1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*- -*- coding: iso-latin-1 -*-
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
15 @setchapternewpage odd
19 \documentclass[twoside,a4paper,openright,11pt]{book}
20 \usepackage[latin1]{inputenc}
21 \usepackage{pagestyle}
24 \input{gnusconfig.tex}
26 \ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
28 \usepackage[pdftex,bookmarks]{hyperref}
35 \newcommand{\gnusversionname}{Oort Gnus v.}
36 \newcommand{\gnuschaptername}{}
37 \newcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
39 \newcommand{\gnusbackslash}{/}
41 \newcommand{\gnusref}[1]{``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
42 \ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
43 \newcommand{\gnusuref}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
45 \newcommand{\gnusuref}[1]{\href{#1}{\gnustt{#1}}}
47 \newcommand{\gnusxref}[1]{See ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
48 \newcommand{\gnuspxref}[1]{see ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
50 \newcommand{\gnuskindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
51 \newcommand{\gnusindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
53 \newcommand{\gnustt}[1]{{\gnusselectttfont{}#1}}
54 \newcommand{\gnuscode}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
55 \newcommand{\gnussamp}[1]{``{\fontencoding{OT1}\gnusselectttfont{}#1}''}
56 \newcommand{\gnuslisp}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
57 \newcommand{\gnuskbd}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
58 \newcommand{\gnusfile}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
59 \newcommand{\gnusdfn}[1]{\textit{#1}}
60 \newcommand{\gnusi}[1]{\textit{#1}}
61 \newcommand{\gnusstrong}[1]{\textbf{#1}}
62 \newcommand{\gnusemph}[1]{\textit{#1}}
63 \newcommand{\gnusvar}[1]{{\fontsize{10pt}{10}\selectfont\textsl{\textsf{#1}}}}
64 \newcommand{\gnussc}[1]{\textsc{#1}}
65 \newcommand{\gnustitle}[1]{{\huge\textbf{#1}}}
66 \newcommand{\gnusversion}[1]{{\small\textit{#1}}}
67 \newcommand{\gnusauthor}[1]{{\large\textbf{#1}}}
68 \newcommand{\gnusresult}[1]{\gnustt{=> #1}}
70 \newcommand{\gnusbullet}{{${\bullet}$}}
71 \newcommand{\gnusdollar}{\$}
72 \newcommand{\gnusampersand}{\&}
73 \newcommand{\gnuspercent}{\%}
74 \newcommand{\gnushash}{\#}
75 \newcommand{\gnushat}{\symbol{"5E}}
76 \newcommand{\gnusunderline}{\symbol{"5F}}
77 \newcommand{\gnusnot}{$\neg$}
78 \newcommand{\gnustilde}{\symbol{"7E}}
79 \newcommand{\gnusless}{{$<$}}
80 \newcommand{\gnusgreater}{{$>$}}
81 \newcommand{\gnusbraceleft}{{$>$}}
82 \newcommand{\gnusbraceright}{{$>$}}
84 \newcommand{\gnushead}{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-head,height=1cm}}}
85 \newcommand{\gnusinteresting}{
86 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\gnushead]{\gnushead}
89 \newcommand{\gnuscleardoublepage}{\ifodd\count0\mbox{}\clearpage\thispagestyle{empty}\mbox{}\clearpage\else\clearpage\fi}
91 \newcommand{\gnuspagechapter}[1]{
98 \newcommand{\gnuschapter}[2]{
100 \ifdim \gnusdimen = 0pt\setcounter{page}{1}\pagestyle{gnus}\pagenumbering{arabic} \gnusdimen 1pt\fi
102 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
103 \renewcommand{\gnuschaptername}{#2}
104 \thispagestyle{empty}
106 \begin{picture}(500,500)(0,0)
107 \put(480,350){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{#1}}
108 \put(40,300){\makebox(500,50)[bl]{{\Huge\bf{#2}}}}
113 \newcommand{\gnusfigure}[3]{
115 \mbox{}\ifodd\count0\hspace*{-0.8cm}\else\hspace*{-3cm}\fi\begin{picture}(440,#2)
122 \newcommand{\gnusicon}[1]{
123 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\raisebox{-1.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/#1-up,height=1.5cm}}]{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/#1-up,height=1cm}}}
126 \newcommand{\gnuspicon}[1]{
127 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=2cm}}
130 \newcommand{\gnusxface}[2]{
131 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=1cm}\epsfig{figure=#2,width=1cm}}
134 \newcommand{\gnussmiley}[2]{
135 \margindex{\makebox[2cm]{\hfill\epsfig{figure=#1,width=0.5cm}\hfill\epsfig{figure=#2,width=0.5cm}\hfill}}
138 \newcommand{\gnusitemx}[1]{\mbox{}\vspace*{-\itemsep}\vspace*{-\parsep}\item#1}
140 \newcommand{\gnussection}[1]{
141 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{#1}
145 \newenvironment{codelist}%
150 \newenvironment{kbdlist}%
156 \newenvironment{dfnlist}%
161 \newenvironment{stronglist}%
166 \newenvironment{samplist}%
171 \newenvironment{varlist}%
176 \newenvironment{emphlist}%
181 \newlength\gnusheadtextwidth
182 \setlength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{\headtextwidth}
183 \addtolength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{1cm}
185 \newpagestyle{gnuspreamble}%
190 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\mbox{}}\textbf{\hfill\roman{page}}}
194 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\roman{page}\hfill\mbox{}}}
203 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
205 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
210 \newpagestyle{gnusindex}%
215 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\gnuschaptername\hfill\arabic{page}}}}
219 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}
227 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
229 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
239 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{3.1cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{chapter}.\arabic{section}} \textbf{\gnussectionname\hfill\arabic{page}}}}}
243 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{-2.95cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}}
251 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
253 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
258 \pagenumbering{roman}
259 \pagestyle{gnuspreamble}
269 %\addtolength{\oddsidemargin}{-5cm}
270 %\addtolength{\evensidemargin}{-5cm}
272 \addtolength{\textheight}{2cm}
274 \gnustitle{\gnustitlename}\hfill\gnusversion{\gnusversionname}\\
277 \hspace*{0cm}\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=15cm}
280 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
287 \thispagestyle{empty}
289 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
290 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
293 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
294 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
295 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
296 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
297 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
298 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
299 License'' in the Emacs manual.
301 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
302 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
303 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
305 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
306 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
307 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
308 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
316 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
318 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
319 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
321 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
322 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
323 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
324 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
325 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
326 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
327 License'' in the Emacs manual.
329 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
330 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
331 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
333 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
334 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
335 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
336 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
344 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
347 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
348 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
349 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
351 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
352 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
353 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
354 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
355 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
356 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
357 License'' in the Emacs manual.
359 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
360 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
361 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
363 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
364 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
365 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
366 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
375 @top The Gnus Newsreader
379 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
380 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
381 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
384 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v.
395 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
396 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
398 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
399 being accused of plagiarism:
401 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
402 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
403 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
404 can even read news with it!
406 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
407 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
408 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
409 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
410 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
416 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
417 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
418 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
419 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
420 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
421 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
422 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
423 * Various:: General purpose settings.
424 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
425 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
426 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
427 * Key Index:: Key Index.
430 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
434 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
435 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
436 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
437 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
438 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
439 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
440 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
441 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
442 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
443 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
444 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
448 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
449 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
450 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
454 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
455 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
456 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
457 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
458 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
459 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
460 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
461 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
462 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
463 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
464 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
465 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
466 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
467 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
468 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
469 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
470 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
474 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
475 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
476 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
480 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
481 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
482 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
483 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
484 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
488 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
489 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
490 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
491 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
492 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
496 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
497 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
498 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
499 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
500 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
502 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
503 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
504 * Threading:: How threads are made.
505 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
506 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
507 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
508 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
509 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
510 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
511 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
512 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
513 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
514 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
515 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
516 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
517 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
518 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
519 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
520 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
521 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
522 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
523 or reselecting the current group.
524 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
525 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
526 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
527 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
529 Summary Buffer Format
531 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
532 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
533 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
534 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
538 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
539 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
541 Reply, Followup and Post
543 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
544 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
545 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
546 * Canceling and Superseding::
550 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
551 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
552 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
554 * Generic Marking Commands::
555 * Setting Process Marks::
559 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
560 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
561 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
565 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
566 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
568 Customizing Threading
570 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
571 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
572 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
573 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
577 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
578 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
579 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
580 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
581 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
582 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
586 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
587 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
588 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
592 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
593 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
594 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
595 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
596 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
597 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
598 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
599 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
601 Alternative Approaches
603 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
604 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
606 Various Summary Stuff
608 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
609 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
610 * Summary Generation Commands::
611 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
615 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
616 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
617 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
618 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
619 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
623 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
624 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
625 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
626 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
627 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
628 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
629 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
630 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
634 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
635 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
636 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
637 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
638 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
639 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
640 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
641 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
645 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
646 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
647 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
648 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
649 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
650 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
651 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
655 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
656 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
660 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
661 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
662 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
666 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
667 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
668 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
669 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
670 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
671 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
672 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
673 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
674 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
675 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
676 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
677 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
678 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
679 * Archiving Mail:: How to backup your mail.
683 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
684 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
685 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
687 Choosing a Mail Back End
689 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
690 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
691 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
692 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
693 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
694 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
698 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
699 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
700 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
701 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
702 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
703 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
707 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
708 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
709 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
713 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
714 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
715 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
716 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
717 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
721 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
725 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
726 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
727 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
731 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
732 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
736 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
737 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
738 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
739 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
740 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
741 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
742 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
743 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
744 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
745 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
749 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
750 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
751 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
755 * Group Agent Commands::
756 * Summary Agent Commands::
757 * Server Agent Commands::
761 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
762 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
763 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
764 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
765 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
766 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
767 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
768 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
769 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
770 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
771 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
772 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
773 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
774 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
775 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
776 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
777 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
781 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
782 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
783 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
784 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
788 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
789 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
790 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
794 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
795 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
796 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
797 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
798 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
799 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
800 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
801 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
802 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
803 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
804 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
805 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
806 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
807 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
808 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
809 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
810 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
811 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
815 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
816 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
817 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
818 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
819 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
820 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
821 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
822 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
826 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
827 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
828 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
829 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
833 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
834 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
835 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
836 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
837 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
841 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
842 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
843 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
844 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
845 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
846 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
847 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
851 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
852 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
853 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
854 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
855 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
856 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
857 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
858 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
859 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
863 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
864 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
865 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
866 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
867 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
871 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
872 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
873 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
874 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
878 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
879 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
880 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
881 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
882 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
883 * Group Info:: The group info format.
884 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
885 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
886 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
890 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
891 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
892 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
893 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
894 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
895 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
899 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
900 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
904 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
905 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
911 @chapter Starting Gnus
916 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
917 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
920 @findex gnus-other-frame
921 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
922 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
923 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
925 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
926 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
927 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
929 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
930 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
933 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
934 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
935 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
936 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
937 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
938 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
939 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
940 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
941 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
942 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
943 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
947 @node Finding the News
948 @section Finding the News
951 @vindex gnus-select-method
953 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
954 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
955 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
956 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
959 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
960 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
963 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
966 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
969 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
972 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
973 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
974 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
976 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
978 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
979 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
980 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
981 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
982 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
983 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
985 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
986 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
987 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
988 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
990 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
991 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
992 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
993 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
994 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
995 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
996 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
997 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
998 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1001 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1003 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1004 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1005 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1006 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1007 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1008 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1010 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1012 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1013 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1014 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1015 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1016 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1017 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1020 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1021 you would typically set this variable to
1024 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1028 @node The First Time
1029 @section The First Time
1030 @cindex first time usage
1032 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1033 be subscribed by default.
1035 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1036 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1037 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1038 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1041 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1042 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1043 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1045 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1046 help you with most common problems.
1048 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1049 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1053 @node The Server is Down
1054 @section The Server is Down
1055 @cindex server errors
1057 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1058 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1059 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1061 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1062 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1063 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1064 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1065 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1066 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1067 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1069 @findex gnus-no-server
1070 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1072 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1073 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1074 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1075 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1076 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1077 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1078 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1082 @section Slave Gnusae
1085 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1086 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1087 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1088 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1090 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1091 @code{.newsrc} file.
1093 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1094 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1095 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1096 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1097 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1098 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1099 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1101 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1102 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1103 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1104 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1105 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1106 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1107 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1108 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1110 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1111 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1114 @node Fetching a Group
1115 @section Fetching a Group
1116 @cindex fetching a group
1118 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1119 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1120 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1121 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1122 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1123 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1129 @cindex subscription
1131 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1132 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1133 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1134 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1135 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1136 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1137 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1138 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1139 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1142 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1143 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1144 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1148 @node Checking New Groups
1149 @subsection Checking New Groups
1151 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1152 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1153 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1154 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1155 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1156 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1157 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1158 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1159 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1160 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1162 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1163 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1164 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1165 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1166 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1167 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1168 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1169 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1170 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1171 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1172 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1174 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1175 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1176 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1177 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1178 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1179 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1182 @node Subscription Methods
1183 @subsection Subscription Methods
1185 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1186 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1187 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1189 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1190 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1192 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1196 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1197 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1198 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1199 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1200 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1202 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1203 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1204 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1205 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1207 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1208 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1209 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1211 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1212 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1213 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1214 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1215 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1216 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1217 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1218 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1219 up. Or something like that.
1221 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1222 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1223 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1224 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1225 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1227 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1228 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1229 Kill all new groups.
1231 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1232 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1233 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1234 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1235 topic parameter that looks like
1241 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1244 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1249 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1250 A closely related variable is
1251 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1252 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1253 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1254 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1257 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1258 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1259 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1260 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1263 @node Filtering New Groups
1264 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1266 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1267 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1268 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1271 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1274 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1275 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1276 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1277 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1278 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1279 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1280 subscribing these groups.
1281 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1282 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1284 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1285 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1286 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1287 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1288 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1289 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1290 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1291 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1293 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1294 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1295 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1296 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1297 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1298 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1299 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1300 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1301 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1302 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1304 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1305 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1308 @node Changing Servers
1309 @section Changing Servers
1310 @cindex changing servers
1312 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1313 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1314 very flaky and you want to use another.
1316 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1317 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1321 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1322 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1323 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1324 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1327 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1328 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1329 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1330 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1332 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1333 @findex gnus-change-server
1334 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1335 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1336 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1337 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1338 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1340 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1341 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1342 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1343 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1344 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1346 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1347 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1348 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1349 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1350 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1351 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1353 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1354 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1355 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1359 @section Startup Files
1360 @cindex startup files
1365 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1366 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1368 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1369 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1370 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1371 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1372 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1373 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1374 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1376 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1377 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1378 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1379 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1380 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1381 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1383 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1384 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1385 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1386 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1387 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1388 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1389 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1390 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1391 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1392 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1394 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1395 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1396 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1397 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1398 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1399 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1400 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1401 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1402 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1403 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1404 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1405 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1407 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1408 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1409 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1410 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1412 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1413 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1414 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1415 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1416 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1417 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1418 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1419 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1420 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1421 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1424 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1425 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1427 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1428 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1431 @vindex gnus-init-file
1432 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1433 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1434 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1435 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1436 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1437 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1438 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1439 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1440 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1446 @cindex dribble file
1449 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1450 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1451 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1452 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1453 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1456 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1457 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1460 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1461 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1462 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1464 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1465 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1466 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1467 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1468 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1469 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1471 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1472 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1473 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1476 @node The Active File
1477 @section The Active File
1479 @cindex ignored groups
1481 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1482 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1483 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1485 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1486 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1487 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1488 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1489 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1490 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1491 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1494 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1495 @c if you set it to anything else.
1497 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1499 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1500 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1501 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1503 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1504 you actually subscribe to.
1506 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1507 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1508 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1509 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1511 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1512 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1513 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1514 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1515 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1516 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1518 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1519 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1520 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1523 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1524 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1525 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1526 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1527 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1528 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1530 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1531 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1533 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1534 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1536 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1537 secondary select methods.
1540 @node Startup Variables
1541 @section Startup Variables
1545 @item gnus-load-hook
1546 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1547 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1548 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1549 times you start Gnus.
1551 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1552 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1553 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1555 @item gnus-startup-hook
1556 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1557 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1559 @item gnus-started-hook
1560 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1561 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1564 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1565 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1566 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1567 generating the group buffer.
1569 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1570 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1571 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1572 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1573 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1574 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1575 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1576 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1578 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1579 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1580 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1581 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1582 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1583 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1585 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1586 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1587 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1589 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1590 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1591 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1593 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1594 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1595 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1596 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1602 @chapter Group Buffer
1603 @cindex group buffer
1605 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1607 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1608 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1609 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1610 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1611 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1612 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1613 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1614 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1615 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1616 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1617 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1618 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1619 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1620 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1621 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1622 @c human rights at 9...
1625 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1626 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1627 long as Gnus is active.
1631 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1632 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1633 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1634 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1635 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1636 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1637 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1638 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1644 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1645 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1646 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1647 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1648 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1649 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1650 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1651 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1652 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1653 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1654 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1655 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1656 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1657 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1658 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1659 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1660 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1664 @node Group Buffer Format
1665 @section Group Buffer Format
1668 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1669 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1670 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1674 @node Group Line Specification
1675 @subsection Group Line Specification
1676 @cindex group buffer format
1678 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1679 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1681 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1684 25: news.announce.newusers
1685 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1690 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1691 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1692 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1693 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1695 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1696 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1697 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1698 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1699 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1700 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1702 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1704 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1705 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1706 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1707 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1708 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1710 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1711 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1712 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1714 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1719 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1722 Whether the group is subscribed.
1725 Level of subscribedness.
1728 Number of unread articles.
1731 Number of dormant articles.
1734 Number of ticked articles.
1737 Number of read articles.
1740 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1741 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1743 Gnus uses this estimation because the NNTP protocol provides efficient
1744 access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting the true
1745 unread message count is not possible efficiently. For hysterical
1746 raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of unread
1747 messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1748 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the
1749 back end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1750 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1753 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1756 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1765 Newsgroup description.
1768 @samp{m} if moderated.
1771 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1780 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1784 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1787 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1788 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1789 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1790 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1791 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1794 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1796 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1800 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1803 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1807 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1808 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1809 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1810 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1811 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1812 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1817 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1818 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1819 group, or a bogus native group.
1822 @node Group Modeline Specification
1823 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1824 @cindex group modeline
1826 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1827 The mode line can be changed by setting
1828 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1829 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1833 The native news server.
1835 The native select method.
1839 @node Group Highlighting
1840 @subsection Group Highlighting
1841 @cindex highlighting
1842 @cindex group highlighting
1844 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1845 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1846 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1847 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1848 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1850 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1854 (cond (window-system
1855 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1856 (defface my-group-face-1
1857 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1858 (defface my-group-face-2
1859 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1860 (defface my-group-face-3
1861 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1862 (defface my-group-face-4
1863 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1864 (defface my-group-face-5
1865 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1867 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1868 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1869 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1870 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1871 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1872 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1875 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1877 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1884 The number of unread articles in the group.
1888 Whether the group is a mail group.
1890 The level of the group.
1892 The score of the group.
1894 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1896 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1897 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1899 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1900 topic being inserted.
1903 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1904 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1905 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1907 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1908 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1909 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1910 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1911 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1914 @node Group Maneuvering
1915 @section Group Maneuvering
1916 @cindex group movement
1918 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1919 expected, hopefully.
1925 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1926 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1927 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1933 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1934 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1935 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1939 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1940 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1944 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1945 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1949 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1950 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1951 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1955 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1956 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1957 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1960 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1966 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1967 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1968 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1973 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1974 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1975 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1979 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1980 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1981 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1984 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1985 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1986 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1987 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1991 @node Selecting a Group
1992 @section Selecting a Group
1993 @cindex group selection
1998 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1999 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2000 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2001 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2002 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2003 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2004 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2005 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2006 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2007 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2009 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2010 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2011 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2013 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2014 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2019 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2020 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2021 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2022 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2023 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2027 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2028 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2029 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2030 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2031 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2032 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2033 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2034 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2035 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2036 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2039 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2040 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2041 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2042 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2043 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2046 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2047 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2048 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2049 doing any processing of its contents
2050 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2051 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2052 manner will have no permanent effects.
2056 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2057 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2058 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2059 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2060 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2061 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2062 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2063 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2066 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2067 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2068 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
2069 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2074 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
2075 full summary buffer.
2078 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
2081 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
2086 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2087 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
2088 Useful functions include:
2091 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2092 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2093 don't select the article.
2095 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2096 Select the first unread article.
2098 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2099 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2103 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2104 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2105 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2109 @node Subscription Commands
2110 @section Subscription Commands
2111 @cindex subscription
2119 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2120 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2121 Toggle subscription to the current group
2122 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2128 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2129 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2130 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2131 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2137 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2138 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2139 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2145 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2146 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2149 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2150 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2151 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2152 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2153 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2159 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2160 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2164 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2165 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2168 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2169 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2170 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2171 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2172 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2173 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2174 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2175 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2176 @file{.newsrc} file.
2180 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2190 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2191 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2192 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2193 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2194 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2195 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2200 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2201 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2202 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2206 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2207 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2208 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2210 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2211 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2212 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2213 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2214 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2215 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2222 @section Group Levels
2226 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2227 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2228 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2229 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2230 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2232 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2238 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2239 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2240 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2241 prompted for a level.
2244 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2245 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2246 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2247 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2248 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2249 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2250 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2251 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2252 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2253 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2254 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2255 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2256 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2257 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2258 reasons of efficiency.
2260 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2261 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2263 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2264 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2265 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2266 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2267 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2268 groups are hidden, in a way.
2270 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2271 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2272 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2273 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2274 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2275 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2277 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2278 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2279 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2280 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2281 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2282 list of killed groups.)
2284 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2285 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2286 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2288 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2289 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2290 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2291 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2292 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2293 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2294 relevant valid ranges.
2296 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2297 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2298 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2299 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2300 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2301 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2304 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2305 one with the best level.
2307 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2308 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2309 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2312 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2313 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2314 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2315 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2318 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2319 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2320 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2321 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2323 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2324 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2325 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2326 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2327 to 5. The default is 6.
2331 @section Group Score
2336 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2337 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2338 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2341 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2342 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2343 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2344 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2345 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2346 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2347 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2348 least significant part.))
2350 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2351 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2352 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2353 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2354 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2355 action after each summary exit, you can add
2356 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2357 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2358 slow things down somewhat.
2361 @node Marking Groups
2362 @section Marking Groups
2363 @cindex marking groups
2365 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2366 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2367 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2368 bidding on those groups.
2370 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2371 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2372 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2380 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2381 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2387 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2388 Remove the mark from the current group
2389 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2393 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2394 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2398 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2399 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2403 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2404 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2408 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2409 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2410 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2413 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2415 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2416 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2417 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2418 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2419 the command to be executed.
2422 @node Foreign Groups
2423 @section Foreign Groups
2424 @cindex foreign groups
2426 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2427 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2428 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2429 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2436 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2437 @cindex making groups
2438 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2439 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2440 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2444 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2445 @cindex renaming groups
2446 Rename the current group to something else
2447 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2448 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2454 @findex gnus-group-customize
2455 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2459 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2460 @cindex renaming groups
2461 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2462 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2466 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2467 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2468 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2472 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2473 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2474 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2478 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2480 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2481 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2486 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2487 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2491 @cindex (ding) archive
2492 @cindex archive group
2493 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2494 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2495 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2496 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2497 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2498 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2499 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2503 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2505 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2506 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2507 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2508 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2512 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2514 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2515 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2516 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2520 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2521 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2523 Make a group based on some file or other
2524 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2525 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2526 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2527 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2528 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2529 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2530 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2531 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2532 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2536 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2537 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2538 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2539 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2543 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2548 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2549 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2550 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2551 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2552 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2553 @xref{Web Searches}.
2555 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2556 to a particular group by using a match string like
2557 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2560 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2561 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2562 This function will delete the current group
2563 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2564 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2565 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2566 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2567 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2571 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2572 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2573 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2577 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2578 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2579 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2582 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2585 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2586 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2587 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2588 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2589 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2590 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2594 @node Group Parameters
2595 @section Group Parameters
2596 @cindex group parameters
2598 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2599 Here's an example group parameter list:
2602 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2606 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2607 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2608 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2609 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2611 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2612 is an alist of regexps and values.
2614 The following group parameters can be used:
2619 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2622 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2625 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2626 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2627 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2628 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2629 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2631 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2632 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2633 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2634 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2635 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2636 list address instead.
2638 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2642 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2645 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2648 It is totally ignored
2649 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2650 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2652 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2653 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2654 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2655 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2656 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2658 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2659 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2660 sending the message.
2662 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2663 @cindex Mail List Groups
2664 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2665 entering summary buffer.
2667 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2671 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2672 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2673 of whether it has any unread articles.
2675 @item broken-reply-to
2676 @cindex broken-reply-to
2677 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2678 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2679 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2680 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2681 broken behavior. So there!
2685 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2686 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2690 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2691 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2692 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2697 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2698 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2699 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2700 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2701 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2702 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2703 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2707 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2708 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2709 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2711 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2714 @cindex total-expire
2715 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2716 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2717 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2718 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2721 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2725 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2726 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2727 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2728 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2729 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2730 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2733 @cindex score file group parameter
2734 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2735 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2736 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2739 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2740 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2741 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2742 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2745 @cindex admin-address
2746 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2747 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2748 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2749 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2753 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2754 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2758 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2761 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2762 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2765 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2769 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2771 Here are some examples:
2775 Display only read articles.
2778 Display everything except expirable articles.
2780 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2781 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2785 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2786 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2787 @code{read}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2788 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2789 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{seen} and @code{recent}.
2793 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2794 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2795 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2799 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2800 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2801 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2806 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2807 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2808 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2810 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2812 @item ignored-charsets
2813 @cindex ignored-charset
2814 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2815 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2816 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2818 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2821 @cindex posting-style
2822 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2823 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2824 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2825 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2826 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2828 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2829 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2830 like this in the group parameters:
2835 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2840 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2841 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2845 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2846 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2847 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2848 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2849 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2853 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2854 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2855 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2856 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2858 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2859 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2860 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2861 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2864 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2865 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2869 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2872 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2873 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2874 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2875 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2876 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2877 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2878 @code{eval}ed there.
2880 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2881 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2882 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2883 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2884 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2888 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2889 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2890 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2891 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2892 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2894 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2895 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2899 (setq gnus-parameters
2901 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2902 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2903 (gnus-summary-line-format
2904 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2908 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2912 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2916 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2919 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2920 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2923 @node Listing Groups
2924 @section Listing Groups
2925 @cindex group listing
2927 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2935 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2936 List all groups that have unread articles
2937 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2938 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2939 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2940 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2947 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2948 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2949 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2950 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2951 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2952 unsubscribed groups).
2956 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2957 List all unread groups on a specific level
2958 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2959 with no unread articles.
2963 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2964 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2965 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2966 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2971 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2972 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2976 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2977 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2978 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2982 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2983 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2987 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2988 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2989 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2990 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2991 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2992 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2993 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2994 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2998 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2999 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3000 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3004 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3005 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3006 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3010 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3011 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3015 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3016 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3020 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3021 List groups limited within the current selection
3022 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3026 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3027 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3031 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3032 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3036 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3037 @cindex visible group parameter
3038 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3039 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3040 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3041 get the same effect.
3043 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3044 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3045 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3046 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3047 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3050 @node Sorting Groups
3051 @section Sorting Groups
3052 @cindex sorting groups
3054 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3055 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3056 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3057 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3058 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3059 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3064 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3065 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3066 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3068 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3069 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3070 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3072 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3073 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3074 Sort by group level.
3076 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3077 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3078 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3080 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3081 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3082 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3083 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3085 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3086 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3087 Sort by number of unread articles.
3089 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3090 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3091 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3093 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3094 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3095 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3100 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3101 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3105 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3106 some sorting criteria:
3110 @kindex G S a (Group)
3111 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3112 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3113 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3116 @kindex G S u (Group)
3117 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3118 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3119 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3122 @kindex G S l (Group)
3123 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3124 Sort the group buffer by group level
3125 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3128 @kindex G S v (Group)
3129 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3130 Sort the group buffer by group score
3131 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3134 @kindex G S r (Group)
3135 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3136 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3137 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3140 @kindex G S m (Group)
3141 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3142 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3143 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3147 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3148 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3150 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3151 commands will sort in reverse order.
3153 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3157 @kindex G P a (Group)
3158 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3159 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3160 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3163 @kindex G P u (Group)
3164 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3165 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3166 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3169 @kindex G P l (Group)
3170 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3171 Sort the groups by group level
3172 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3175 @kindex G P v (Group)
3176 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3177 Sort the groups by group score
3178 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3181 @kindex G P r (Group)
3182 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3183 Sort the groups by group rank
3184 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3187 @kindex G P m (Group)
3188 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3189 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3190 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3194 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3198 @node Group Maintenance
3199 @section Group Maintenance
3200 @cindex bogus groups
3205 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3206 Find bogus groups and delete them
3207 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3211 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3212 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3213 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3214 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3215 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3219 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3220 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3221 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3222 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3223 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3224 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3227 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3228 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3229 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3230 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3235 @node Browse Foreign Server
3236 @section Browse Foreign Server
3237 @cindex foreign servers
3238 @cindex browsing servers
3243 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3244 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3245 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3246 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3249 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3250 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3251 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3252 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3254 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3259 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3260 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3264 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3265 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3268 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3269 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3270 Enter the current group and display the first article
3271 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3274 @kindex RET (Browse)
3275 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3276 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3280 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3281 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3282 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3288 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3289 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3293 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3294 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3295 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3300 @section Exiting Gnus
3301 @cindex exiting Gnus
3303 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3308 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3309 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3310 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3311 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3315 @findex gnus-group-exit
3316 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3317 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3321 @findex gnus-group-quit
3322 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3323 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3326 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3327 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3328 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3329 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3330 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3335 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3336 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3337 trying to customize meta-variables.
3342 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3343 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3344 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3350 @section Group Topics
3353 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3354 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3355 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3356 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3357 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3358 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3362 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3363 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3374 2: alt.religion.emacs
3377 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3379 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3380 13: comp.sources.unix
3383 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3385 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3386 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3387 is a toggling command.)
3389 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3390 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3391 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3392 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3395 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3396 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3397 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3400 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3404 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3405 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3406 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3407 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3408 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3412 @node Topic Commands
3413 @subsection Topic Commands
3414 @cindex topic commands
3416 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3417 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3418 definitions slightly.
3420 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3421 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3422 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3423 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3424 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3425 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3427 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3434 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3435 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3436 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3440 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3442 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3443 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3444 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3445 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3448 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3449 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3450 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3451 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3455 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3456 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3457 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3458 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3464 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3465 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3466 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3470 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3471 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3472 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3475 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3476 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3477 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3478 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3479 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3481 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3482 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3486 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3487 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3494 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3496 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3497 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3498 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3499 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3500 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3501 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3505 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3511 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3512 Move the current group to some other topic
3513 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3514 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3518 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3519 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3523 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3524 Copy the current group to some other topic
3525 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3526 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3530 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3531 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3532 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3536 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3537 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3538 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3542 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3543 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3544 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3545 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3546 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3547 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3548 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3551 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3552 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3556 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3557 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3558 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3562 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3563 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3564 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3568 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3569 Toggle hiding empty topics
3570 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3574 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3575 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3576 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3579 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3580 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3581 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3582 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3585 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3586 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3587 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3588 expiry process (if any)
3589 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3593 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3594 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3597 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3598 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3599 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3603 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3604 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3605 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3609 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3610 @cindex group parameters
3611 @cindex topic parameters
3613 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3614 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3619 @node Topic Variables
3620 @subsection Topic Variables
3621 @cindex topic variables
3623 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3624 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3626 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3627 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3628 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3641 Number of groups in the topic.
3643 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3645 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3648 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3649 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3650 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3653 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3654 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3656 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3657 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3658 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3662 @subsection Topic Sorting
3663 @cindex topic sorting
3665 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3671 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3672 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3673 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3674 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3677 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3678 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3679 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3680 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3683 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3684 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3685 Sort the current topic by group level
3686 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3689 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3690 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3691 Sort the current topic by group score
3692 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3695 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3696 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3697 Sort the current topic by group rank
3698 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3701 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3702 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3703 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3704 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3707 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3708 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3709 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3710 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3714 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3717 @node Topic Topology
3718 @subsection Topic Topology
3719 @cindex topic topology
3722 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3728 2: alt.religion.emacs
3731 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3733 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3734 13: comp.sources.unix
3737 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3738 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3739 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3744 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3745 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3749 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3750 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3751 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3752 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3753 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3754 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3756 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3757 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3758 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3761 @node Topic Parameters
3762 @subsection Topic Parameters
3763 @cindex topic parameters
3765 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3766 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3767 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3769 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3774 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3775 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3776 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3781 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3782 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3783 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3784 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3790 2: alt.religion.emacs
3794 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3796 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3797 13: comp.sources.unix
3801 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3802 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3803 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3804 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3805 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3806 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3808 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3809 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3810 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3811 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3812 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3814 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3815 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3816 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3817 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3818 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3819 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3820 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3821 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3824 @node Misc Group Stuff
3825 @section Misc Group Stuff
3828 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3829 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3830 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3831 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3832 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3839 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3840 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3841 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3845 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3846 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3847 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3848 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3852 @findex gnus-group-mail
3853 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). @xref{Composing Messages}.
3857 Variables for the group buffer:
3861 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3862 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3863 is called after the group buffer has been
3866 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3867 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3868 is called after the group buffer is
3869 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3872 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3873 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3874 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3875 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3877 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3878 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3879 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3880 whether they are empty or not.
3882 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3883 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3884 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3885 non-ASCII group names.
3889 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3890 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3893 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3894 @cindex UTF-8 group names
3895 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3896 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
3897 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
3898 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
3902 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3903 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3908 @node Scanning New Messages
3909 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3910 @cindex new messages
3911 @cindex scanning new news
3917 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3918 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3919 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3920 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3921 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3922 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3927 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3928 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3929 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3930 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3931 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3932 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3933 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3935 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3936 @cindex activating groups
3938 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3939 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3944 @findex gnus-group-restart
3945 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3946 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3947 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3951 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3952 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3954 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3955 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3959 @node Group Information
3960 @subsection Group Information
3961 @cindex group information
3962 @cindex information on groups
3969 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3970 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3973 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3974 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3975 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3976 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3977 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3978 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3979 for fetching the file.
3981 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3982 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3986 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3988 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3989 @cindex describing groups
3990 @cindex group description
3991 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3992 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3993 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3997 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3998 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3999 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4006 @findex gnus-version
4007 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4011 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4012 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4015 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4018 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4019 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4023 @node Group Timestamp
4024 @subsection Group Timestamp
4026 @cindex group timestamps
4028 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4029 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4030 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4033 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4036 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4038 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4039 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4042 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4043 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4046 This will result in lines looking like:
4049 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4050 0: custom 19961002T012713
4053 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4054 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4058 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4059 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4064 @subsection File Commands
4065 @cindex file commands
4071 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4072 @vindex gnus-init-file
4073 @cindex reading init file
4074 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4075 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4079 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4080 @cindex saving .newsrc
4081 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4082 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4083 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4086 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4087 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4088 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4093 @node Sieve Commands
4094 @subsection Sieve Commands
4095 @cindex group sieve commands
4097 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4098 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4099 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4100 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4101 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4103 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4104 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4105 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4106 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4107 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4108 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4109 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4110 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4111 regenerate the Sieve script.
4113 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4114 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4115 is generated. If it is non-nil (the default) articles is placed in
4116 all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article is only
4117 placed in the group with the first matching rule. For example, the
4118 group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4119 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4120 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is nil. (When
4121 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-nil, it looks the same except that
4122 the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4125 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4126 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4131 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4137 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4138 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4139 @cindex generating sieve script
4140 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4141 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4145 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4146 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4147 @cindex updating sieve script
4148 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4149 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4150 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4155 @node Summary Buffer
4156 @chapter Summary Buffer
4157 @cindex summary buffer
4159 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4160 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4162 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4163 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4165 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4168 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4169 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4170 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4171 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4172 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4173 * Delayed Articles::
4174 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4175 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4176 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4177 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4178 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4179 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4180 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4181 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4182 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4183 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4184 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4185 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4186 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4187 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4188 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4189 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4190 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4191 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4192 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4193 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4194 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4195 or reselecting the current group.
4196 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4197 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4198 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4199 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4203 @node Summary Buffer Format
4204 @section Summary Buffer Format
4205 @cindex summary buffer format
4209 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4210 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4211 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4217 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4218 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4219 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4220 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4223 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4224 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4225 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4226 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4227 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4228 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4229 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4230 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4231 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4232 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4233 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4236 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4237 'mail-extract-address-components)
4240 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4241 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4242 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4243 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4246 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4247 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4249 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4250 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4251 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4252 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4253 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4255 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4256 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4257 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4258 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4259 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4260 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4262 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%) %s\n}.
4264 The following format specification characters and extended format
4265 specification(s) are understood:
4271 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4272 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4274 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4275 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4276 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4278 Full @code{From} header.
4280 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4282 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
4283 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
4285 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4286 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4287 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4288 may be more thorough.
4290 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4293 Number of lines in the article.
4295 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4296 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4298 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4300 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4303 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4304 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4306 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4307 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4309 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4310 for adopted articles.
4312 One space for each thread level.
4314 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4319 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4320 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4324 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4326 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4327 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4328 default level. If the difference between
4329 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4330 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4338 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4340 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4346 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4347 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4349 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4350 article has any children.
4356 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4357 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4359 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4360 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4361 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4362 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4363 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4364 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4367 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4368 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4369 There can only be one such area.
4371 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4372 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4373 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4374 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4375 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4376 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4378 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4379 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4381 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4384 @node To From Newsgroups
4385 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4389 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4390 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4391 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4392 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4393 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4397 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4398 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4399 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4403 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4404 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4407 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4408 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4411 @findex gnus-extra-header
4412 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4413 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4414 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4417 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4421 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4422 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4423 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4424 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4425 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4426 headers are used instead.
4430 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4431 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4432 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4433 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4436 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4437 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4438 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4439 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4441 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4445 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4447 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4448 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4449 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4450 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4454 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4455 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4462 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4463 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4466 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4467 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4469 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4470 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4471 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4472 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4474 Here are the elements you can play with:
4480 Unprefixed group name.
4482 Current article number.
4484 Current article score.
4488 Number of unread articles in this group.
4490 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4493 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4494 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4495 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4496 and no unselected ones.
4498 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4499 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4501 Subject of the current article.
4503 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4505 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4507 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4509 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4511 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4513 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4517 @node Summary Highlighting
4518 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4522 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4523 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4524 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4525 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4526 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4528 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4529 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4530 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4531 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4533 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4534 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4535 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4536 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4538 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4539 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4540 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4541 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4542 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4543 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4546 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4547 ((> score default) . bold))
4549 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4550 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4554 @node Summary Maneuvering
4555 @section Summary Maneuvering
4556 @cindex summary movement
4558 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4559 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4561 None of these commands select articles.
4566 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4567 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4568 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4569 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4570 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4574 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4575 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4576 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4577 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4578 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4581 @kindex G g (Summary)
4582 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4583 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4584 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4587 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4588 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4589 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4590 to the group buffer.
4592 Variables related to summary movement:
4596 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4597 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4598 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4599 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4600 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4601 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4602 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4603 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4604 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4605 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4606 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4607 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4608 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4609 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4611 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4612 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4613 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4614 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4615 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4616 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4617 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4619 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4621 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4622 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4623 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4624 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4625 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4627 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4628 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4629 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4630 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4631 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4632 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4633 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4634 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4637 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4638 the given number of lines from the top.
4643 @node Choosing Articles
4644 @section Choosing Articles
4645 @cindex selecting articles
4648 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4649 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4653 @node Choosing Commands
4654 @subsection Choosing Commands
4656 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4657 and they all select and display an article.
4659 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4660 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4664 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4665 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4666 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4667 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4672 @kindex G n (Summary)
4673 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4674 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4675 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4680 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4681 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4682 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4687 @kindex G N (Summary)
4688 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4689 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4694 @kindex G P (Summary)
4695 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4696 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4699 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4700 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4701 Go to the next article with the same subject
4702 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4705 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4706 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4707 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4708 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4712 @kindex G f (Summary)
4714 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4715 Go to the first unread article
4716 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4720 @kindex G b (Summary)
4722 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4723 Go to the article with the highest score
4724 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4729 @kindex G l (Summary)
4730 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4731 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4734 @kindex G o (Summary)
4735 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4737 @cindex article history
4738 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4739 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4740 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4741 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4742 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4743 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4748 @kindex G j (Summary)
4749 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4750 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4751 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4756 @node Choosing Variables
4757 @subsection Choosing Variables
4759 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4762 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4763 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4764 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4765 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4766 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4767 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4769 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4770 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4771 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4772 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4774 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4775 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4776 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4777 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4778 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4779 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4780 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4781 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4782 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4783 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4784 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4785 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4786 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4787 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4792 @node Paging the Article
4793 @section Scrolling the Article
4794 @cindex article scrolling
4799 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4800 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4801 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4802 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4803 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4806 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4807 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4808 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4811 @kindex RET (Summary)
4812 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4813 Scroll the current article one line forward
4814 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4817 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4818 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4819 Scroll the current article one line backward
4820 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4824 @kindex A g (Summary)
4826 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4827 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4828 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4829 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4830 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4831 the way it came from the server.
4833 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4834 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4835 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4838 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4843 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4848 @kindex A < (Summary)
4849 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4850 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4851 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4856 @kindex A > (Summary)
4857 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4858 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4862 @kindex A s (Summary)
4864 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4865 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4866 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4870 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4871 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4876 @node Reply Followup and Post
4877 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4880 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4881 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4882 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4883 * Canceling and Superseding::
4887 @node Summary Mail Commands
4888 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4890 @cindex composing mail
4892 Commands for composing a mail message:
4898 @kindex S r (Summary)
4900 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4901 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4902 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4903 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4904 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4909 @kindex S R (Summary)
4910 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4911 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4912 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4913 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4914 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4917 @kindex S w (Summary)
4918 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4919 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4920 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4921 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4922 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4925 @kindex S W (Summary)
4926 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4927 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4928 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4929 the process/prefix convention.
4932 @kindex S v (Summary)
4933 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
4934 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
4935 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
4936 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4937 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
4938 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
4942 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4943 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4944 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4945 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4946 Forward the current article to some other person
4947 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
4948 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
4949 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4950 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4951 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4952 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4953 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4954 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4955 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4960 @kindex S m (Summary)
4961 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4962 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4963 Send a mail to some other person
4964 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4967 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4968 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4969 @cindex bouncing mail
4970 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4971 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4972 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4973 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4974 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4975 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
4976 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4977 very well fail, though.
4980 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4981 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4982 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4983 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4984 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4985 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4986 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4987 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4988 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4989 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4991 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4992 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4993 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4994 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4995 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4997 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4998 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5001 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5002 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5003 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5004 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5005 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5008 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5009 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5010 @cindex crossposting
5011 @cindex excessive crossposting
5012 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5013 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5015 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5016 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5017 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5018 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5019 command understands the process/prefix convention
5020 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5024 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5025 Manual}, for more information.
5028 @node Summary Post Commands
5029 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5031 @cindex composing news
5033 Commands for posting a news article:
5039 @kindex S p (Summary)
5040 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5041 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5042 Post an article to the current group
5043 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
5048 @kindex S f (Summary)
5049 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5050 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5051 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5055 @kindex S F (Summary)
5057 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5058 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5059 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5060 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5061 process/prefix convention.
5064 @kindex S n (Summary)
5065 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5066 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5067 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5070 @kindex S N (Summary)
5071 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5072 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5073 message through mail and include the original message
5074 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5075 the process/prefix convention.
5078 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5079 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5080 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5081 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5082 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5083 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5084 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5085 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5086 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5087 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5088 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5089 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5090 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
5093 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5094 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5096 @cindex making digests
5097 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5098 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5099 process/prefix convention.
5102 @kindex S u (Summary)
5103 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5104 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5105 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5106 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5109 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5110 Manual}, for more information.
5113 @node Summary Message Commands
5114 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5118 @kindex S y (Summary)
5119 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5120 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5121 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5122 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5123 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5128 @node Canceling and Superseding
5129 @subsection Canceling Articles
5130 @cindex canceling articles
5131 @cindex superseding articles
5133 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5134 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5136 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5138 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5140 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5141 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5142 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5143 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5144 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5145 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5147 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5148 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5151 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5152 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5153 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5155 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5156 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5157 your original article.
5159 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5161 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5162 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5163 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5166 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5167 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5168 have posted almost the same article twice.
5170 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5171 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5172 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5173 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5174 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5175 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5176 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5177 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5178 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5179 canceled/superseded.
5181 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5183 @node Delayed Articles
5184 @section Delayed Articles
5185 @cindex delayed sending
5186 @cindex send delayed
5188 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5189 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5190 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5191 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5194 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5197 @findex gnus-delay-article
5198 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5199 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5200 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5201 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5205 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5206 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5207 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5208 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5211 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5212 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5213 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5216 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5217 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5218 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5219 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5220 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5221 that means a time tomorrow.
5224 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5225 couple of variables:
5228 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5229 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5230 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5231 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5233 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5234 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5235 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5236 formats described above.
5238 @item gnus-delay-group
5239 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5240 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5241 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5242 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5244 @item gnus-delay-header
5245 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5246 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5247 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5248 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5251 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5252 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5253 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5254 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5255 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5257 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5258 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts}
5259 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5260 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5261 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5262 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts} function.
5265 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5266 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5267 By default, this function installs the @kbd{C-c C-j} key binding in
5268 Message mode and @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts} in
5269 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts two optional arguments,
5270 @code{no-keymap} and @code{no-check}. If @code{no-keymap} is non-nil,
5271 the @kbd{C-c C-j} binding is not intalled. If @code{no-check} is
5272 non-nil, @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed.
5274 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to change the
5275 keymap but not to change @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. Presumably, you
5276 want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles. Just don't
5277 forget to set that up :-)
5281 @node Marking Articles
5282 @section Marking Articles
5283 @cindex article marking
5284 @cindex article ticking
5287 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5289 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5290 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5291 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5293 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5296 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5297 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5298 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5302 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5306 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5307 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5308 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5312 @node Unread Articles
5313 @subsection Unread Articles
5315 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5320 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5321 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5323 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5324 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5325 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5326 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5327 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5328 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5329 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5332 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5333 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5335 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5336 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5337 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5338 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5342 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5343 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5345 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5350 @subsection Read Articles
5351 @cindex expirable mark
5353 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5358 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5359 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5360 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5363 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5364 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5367 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5368 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5369 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5372 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5373 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5376 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5377 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5380 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5381 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5384 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5385 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5388 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5389 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5392 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5393 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5396 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5397 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5401 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5402 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5403 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5407 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5408 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5410 One more special mark, though:
5414 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5415 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5417 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5418 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5419 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5420 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5426 @subsection Other Marks
5427 @cindex process mark
5430 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5436 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5437 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5438 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5439 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5440 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5443 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5444 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5445 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5446 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5448 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5449 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5450 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5452 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5453 Articles that are ``recently'' arrived in the group will be marked
5454 with an @samp{N} in the second column (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Most
5455 back end doesn't support the mark, in which case it's not shown.
5458 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5459 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5460 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5463 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5464 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5465 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5466 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5469 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5470 Articles that according to the back end haven't been seen by the user
5471 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5472 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all back ends support this
5473 mark, in which case it simply never appear.
5476 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5477 Articles that haven't been seen by the user before are marked with a
5478 @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5481 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5482 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5483 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5484 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5485 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5488 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5489 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5490 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5491 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5492 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5493 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5497 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5498 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5499 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5501 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5502 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5503 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5507 @subsection Setting Marks
5508 @cindex setting marks
5510 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5515 @kindex M c (Summary)
5516 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5517 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5518 @cindex mark as unread
5519 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5520 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5526 @kindex M t (Summary)
5527 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5528 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5529 @xref{Article Caching}.
5534 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5535 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5536 Mark the current article as dormant
5537 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5541 @kindex M d (Summary)
5543 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5544 Mark the current article as read
5545 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5549 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5550 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5551 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5556 @kindex M k (Summary)
5557 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5558 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5559 and then select the next unread article
5560 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5564 @kindex M K (Summary)
5565 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5566 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5567 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5568 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5571 @kindex M C (Summary)
5572 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5573 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5574 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5577 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5578 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5579 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5580 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5583 @kindex M H (Summary)
5584 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5585 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5586 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5589 @kindex M h (Summary)
5590 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5591 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5592 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5595 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5596 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5597 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5598 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5601 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5602 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5603 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5604 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5608 @kindex M e (Summary)
5610 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5611 Mark the current article as expirable
5612 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5615 @kindex M b (Summary)
5616 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5617 Set a bookmark in the current article
5618 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5621 @kindex M B (Summary)
5622 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5623 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5624 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5627 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5628 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5629 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5630 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5633 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5634 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5635 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5636 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5639 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5640 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5641 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5642 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5643 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5646 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5647 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5648 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5649 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5650 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5651 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5652 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5653 The default is @code{t}.
5656 @node Generic Marking Commands
5657 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5659 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5660 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5661 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5662 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5663 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5666 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5667 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5670 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5671 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5672 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5673 to list in this manual.
5675 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5676 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5677 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5678 article, you could say something like:
5681 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5682 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5683 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5689 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5690 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5694 @node Setting Process Marks
5695 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5696 @cindex setting process marks
5703 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5704 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5705 Mark the current article with the process mark
5706 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5707 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5711 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5712 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5713 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5714 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5717 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5718 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5719 Remove the process mark from all articles
5720 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5723 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5724 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5725 Invert the list of process marked articles
5726 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5729 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5730 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5731 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5732 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5735 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5736 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5737 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5738 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5741 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5742 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5743 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5746 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5747 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5748 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5749 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5752 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5753 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5754 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5755 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5758 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5759 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5760 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5761 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5764 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5765 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5766 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5769 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5770 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5771 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5772 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5775 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5776 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5777 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5780 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5781 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5782 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5783 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5786 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5787 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5788 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5789 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5792 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5793 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5794 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5795 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5798 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5799 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5800 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5801 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5805 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5806 set process marks based on article body contents.
5813 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5814 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5815 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5818 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5819 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5820 additional articles.
5826 @kindex / / (Summary)
5827 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5828 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5829 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
5833 @kindex / a (Summary)
5834 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5835 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5836 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
5840 @kindex / x (Summary)
5841 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5842 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5843 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5844 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
5849 @kindex / u (Summary)
5851 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5852 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5853 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5854 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5855 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5858 @kindex / m (Summary)
5859 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5860 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5861 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5864 @kindex / t (Summary)
5865 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5866 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5867 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5868 articles younger than that number of days.
5871 @kindex / n (Summary)
5872 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5873 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5874 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5875 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5878 @kindex / w (Summary)
5879 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5880 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5881 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5885 @kindex / v (Summary)
5886 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5887 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5888 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5891 @kindex / p (Summary)
5892 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter
5893 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
5894 group parameter predicate
5895 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter}). See @pxref{Group
5896 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
5900 @kindex M S (Summary)
5901 @kindex / E (Summary)
5902 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5903 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5904 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5907 @kindex / D (Summary)
5908 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5909 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5910 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5913 @kindex / * (Summary)
5914 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5915 Include all cached articles in the limit
5916 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5919 @kindex / d (Summary)
5920 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5921 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5922 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5925 @kindex / M (Summary)
5926 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5927 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5930 @kindex / T (Summary)
5931 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5932 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5935 @kindex / c (Summary)
5936 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5937 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5938 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5941 @kindex / C (Summary)
5942 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5943 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5944 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5945 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5948 @kindex / N (Summary)
5949 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
5950 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
5951 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
5954 @kindex / o (Summary)
5955 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
5956 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
5957 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
5965 @cindex article threading
5967 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5968 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5969 hierarchical fashion.
5971 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5972 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5973 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5974 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
5975 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5976 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5977 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5979 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5983 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5986 A tree-like article structure.
5989 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5992 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5993 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5994 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5995 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5996 called loose threads.
5998 @item thread gathering
5999 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6001 @item sparse threads
6002 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6003 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6009 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6010 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6014 @node Customizing Threading
6015 @subsection Customizing Threading
6016 @cindex customizing threading
6019 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6020 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6021 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6022 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6027 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6030 @cindex loose threads
6033 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6034 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6035 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6036 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6037 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6038 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6040 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6041 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6042 There are four possible values:
6046 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6047 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6048 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6049 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6050 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6055 @cindex adopting articles
6060 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6061 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6062 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6063 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6066 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6067 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6068 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6069 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6070 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6071 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6072 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6075 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6076 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6077 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6081 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6082 display them after one another.
6085 Don't gather loose threads.
6088 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6089 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6090 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6091 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6092 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6093 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6094 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6095 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6096 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6097 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6098 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6100 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6101 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6102 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6105 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6106 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6107 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6108 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6109 simplification is used.
6111 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6112 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6113 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6114 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6116 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6118 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6124 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6125 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6126 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6127 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6132 (mapconcat 'identity
6133 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6135 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6138 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6141 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6142 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6143 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6144 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6145 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6146 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6148 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6151 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6152 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6153 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6155 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6156 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6159 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6160 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6161 Remove excessive whitespace.
6164 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6167 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6168 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6169 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6170 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6171 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6172 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6173 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6174 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6176 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6177 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6178 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6179 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6180 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6181 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6182 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6183 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6184 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6188 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6189 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6190 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6191 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6193 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6194 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6195 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6198 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6202 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6203 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6209 @node Filling In Threads
6210 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6213 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6214 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6215 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6216 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6217 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6218 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6219 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6220 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6221 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6222 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
6223 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
6224 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
6226 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6227 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6228 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6230 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6231 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6232 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6233 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6234 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6235 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6236 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6237 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6238 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6239 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6240 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6241 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6242 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6243 @code{nil} by default.
6245 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6246 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6247 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6248 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6249 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6250 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6251 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6253 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6254 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6255 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6260 @node More Threading
6261 @subsubsection More Threading
6264 @item gnus-show-threads
6265 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6266 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6267 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6268 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6269 slower and more awkward.
6271 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6272 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6273 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6276 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6277 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6278 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6279 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6280 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6281 threads are expunged.
6283 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6284 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6285 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6288 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6289 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6290 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6291 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6292 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6293 result in a new thread.
6295 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6296 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6297 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6300 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6301 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6302 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6303 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6304 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6305 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6306 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6307 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6308 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6309 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6310 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6315 @node Low-Level Threading
6316 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6320 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6321 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6322 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6324 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6325 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6326 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6327 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6328 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6329 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6330 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6331 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6332 meaningful. Here's one example:
6335 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6337 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6338 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6340 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6342 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6349 @node Thread Commands
6350 @subsection Thread Commands
6351 @cindex thread commands
6357 @kindex T k (Summary)
6358 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6359 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6360 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6361 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6362 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6367 @kindex T l (Summary)
6368 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6369 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6370 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6371 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6374 @kindex T i (Summary)
6375 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6376 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6377 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6380 @kindex T # (Summary)
6381 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6382 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6383 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6386 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6387 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6388 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6389 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6392 @kindex T T (Summary)
6393 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6394 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6397 @kindex T s (Summary)
6398 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6399 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6400 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6403 @kindex T h (Summary)
6404 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6405 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6408 @kindex T S (Summary)
6409 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6410 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6413 @kindex T H (Summary)
6414 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6415 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6418 @kindex T t (Summary)
6419 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6420 Re-thread the current article's thread
6421 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6422 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6425 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6426 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6427 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6428 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6432 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6433 understand the numeric prefix.
6438 @kindex T n (Summary)
6440 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6442 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6443 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6444 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6447 @kindex T p (Summary)
6449 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6451 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6452 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6453 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6456 @kindex T d (Summary)
6457 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6458 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6461 @kindex T u (Summary)
6462 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6463 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6466 @kindex T o (Summary)
6467 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6468 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6471 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6472 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6473 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6474 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6475 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6476 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6477 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6478 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6479 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6480 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6481 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6482 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6486 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6487 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6489 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6490 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6491 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6492 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6493 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6494 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6495 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6496 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6497 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6498 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6499 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6501 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6502 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6503 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6504 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
6505 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6507 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6508 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6509 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6511 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6512 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6513 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6514 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6515 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6516 ascending article order.
6518 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6519 by number, you could do something like:
6522 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6523 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6524 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6525 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6528 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6529 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6530 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6531 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6532 which the articles arrived.
6534 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6538 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6540 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6541 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6544 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6545 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6546 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6547 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6550 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6551 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6552 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6553 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6554 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6555 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6556 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
6557 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
6558 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
6559 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
6560 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6561 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
6562 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6564 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6568 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6569 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6570 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6575 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6576 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6577 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6578 @cindex article pre-fetch
6581 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6582 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6583 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6584 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6585 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6587 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6588 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6590 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6591 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6592 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6593 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6594 connection is blocked.
6596 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6597 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6598 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6599 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6601 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6602 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6603 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6604 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6607 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6610 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6611 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6612 happen automatically.
6614 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6615 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6616 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6617 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6618 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6619 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6620 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6622 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6623 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6624 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6625 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6626 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6627 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6628 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6629 data structure as the only parameter.
6631 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6634 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6635 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6636 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6637 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6640 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6643 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6644 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6645 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6647 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6648 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6649 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6650 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6654 Remove articles when they are read.
6657 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6660 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6662 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6663 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6664 @c from the next group.
6667 @node Article Caching
6668 @section Article Caching
6669 @cindex article caching
6672 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6673 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6674 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6675 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6676 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6678 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6680 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6681 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6682 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6683 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6684 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6685 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6686 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6687 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6689 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6690 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6691 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6692 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6693 as dormant, and don't worry.
6695 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6697 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6698 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6699 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6700 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6701 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6702 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6703 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6704 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6705 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6706 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6708 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6709 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6710 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6711 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6712 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6713 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6714 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6715 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6716 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6717 not then be downloaded by this command.
6719 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6720 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6721 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6722 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6723 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6724 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6726 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6727 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6728 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6729 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6730 variables, the group is not cached.
6732 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6733 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6734 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6735 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6736 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6737 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6738 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6739 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6740 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6744 @node Persistent Articles
6745 @section Persistent Articles
6746 @cindex persistent articles
6748 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6749 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6750 useful in my opinion.
6752 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6753 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6754 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6755 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6756 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6757 the expiry going on at the news server.
6759 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6760 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6761 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6767 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6768 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6771 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6772 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6773 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6774 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6778 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6780 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6781 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6782 interested in persistent articles:
6785 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6789 @node Article Backlog
6790 @section Article Backlog
6792 @cindex article backlog
6794 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6795 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6796 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
6797 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6798 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6799 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6800 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
6801 increase memory usage some.
6803 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6804 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
6805 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6806 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
6807 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6808 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6809 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6811 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6814 @node Saving Articles
6815 @section Saving Articles
6816 @cindex saving articles
6818 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6819 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6820 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6821 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6822 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6824 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6825 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
6826 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6828 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6829 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6830 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6831 deleted before saving.
6837 @kindex O o (Summary)
6839 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6840 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6841 Save the current article using the default article saver
6842 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6845 @kindex O m (Summary)
6846 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6847 Save the current article in mail format
6848 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6851 @kindex O r (Summary)
6852 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6853 Save the current article in rmail format
6854 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6857 @kindex O f (Summary)
6858 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6859 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6860 Save the current article in plain file format
6861 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6864 @kindex O F (Summary)
6865 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6866 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6867 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6870 @kindex O b (Summary)
6871 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6872 Save the current article body in plain file format
6873 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6876 @kindex O h (Summary)
6877 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6878 Save the current article in mh folder format
6879 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6882 @kindex O v (Summary)
6883 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6884 Save the current article in a VM folder
6885 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6889 @kindex O p (Summary)
6891 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6892 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6893 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6896 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6897 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6898 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6899 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6900 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6901 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6902 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6903 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6904 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6905 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6906 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6907 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6911 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6912 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6913 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6914 functions below, or you can create your own.
6918 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6919 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6920 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6921 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6922 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6923 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6924 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6926 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6927 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6928 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6929 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6930 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6931 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6933 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6934 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6935 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6936 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6937 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6938 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6939 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6941 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
6942 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
6943 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
6944 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
6945 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6946 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6948 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6949 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6950 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6951 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6952 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6954 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6955 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6956 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6957 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6958 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6961 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6962 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6963 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6964 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6965 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6967 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6968 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6969 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6970 reader to use this setting.
6973 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6974 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6975 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6976 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6979 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6980 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6981 available functions that generate names:
6985 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6986 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6987 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6989 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6990 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6991 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6993 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6994 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6995 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6997 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6998 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6999 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7001 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7002 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7003 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7006 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7007 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7008 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7009 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7010 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7014 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7015 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7016 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7017 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7020 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7021 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7022 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7023 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7024 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7025 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7026 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7027 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7028 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7030 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7031 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7032 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7033 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7035 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7036 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7037 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7040 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7041 lots of mail groups called things like
7042 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7043 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7044 following will do just that:
7047 (defun my-save-name (group)
7048 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7049 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7051 (setq gnus-split-methods
7052 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7057 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7058 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7059 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7060 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7061 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7062 all the files in the top level directory
7063 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7064 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7065 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7066 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7068 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7069 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7070 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7071 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7072 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7075 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7079 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7080 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7081 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7084 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7085 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7086 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7087 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7090 @node Decoding Articles
7091 @section Decoding Articles
7092 @cindex decoding articles
7094 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7095 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7098 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7099 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7100 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7101 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7102 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7103 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7107 @cindex article series
7108 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7109 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7110 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7111 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7112 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7114 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7115 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7116 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7118 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7119 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7120 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7122 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7123 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7124 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7127 @node Uuencoded Articles
7128 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7130 @cindex uuencoded articles
7135 @kindex X u (Summary)
7136 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7137 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7138 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7141 @kindex X U (Summary)
7142 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7143 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7144 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7147 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7148 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7149 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7152 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7153 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7154 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7155 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7159 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7160 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7161 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7162 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7163 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7165 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7166 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7167 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7168 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7171 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7172 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7173 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7174 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7175 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7176 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7180 @node Shell Archives
7181 @subsection Shell Archives
7183 @cindex shell archives
7184 @cindex shared articles
7186 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7187 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7188 some commands to deal with these:
7193 @kindex X s (Summary)
7194 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7195 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7198 @kindex X S (Summary)
7199 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7200 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7203 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7204 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7205 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7208 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7209 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7210 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7211 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7215 @node PostScript Files
7216 @subsection PostScript Files
7222 @kindex X p (Summary)
7223 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7224 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7227 @kindex X P (Summary)
7228 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7229 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7230 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7233 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7234 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7235 View the current PostScript series
7236 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7239 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7240 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7241 View and save the current PostScript series
7242 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7247 @subsection Other Files
7251 @kindex X o (Summary)
7252 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7253 Save the current series
7254 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7257 @kindex X b (Summary)
7258 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7259 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7260 doesn't really work yet.
7264 @node Decoding Variables
7265 @subsection Decoding Variables
7267 Adjective, not verb.
7270 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7271 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7272 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7276 @node Rule Variables
7277 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7278 @cindex rule variables
7280 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7281 variables are of the form
7284 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7291 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7292 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7294 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7295 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7298 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7299 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7302 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7303 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7304 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7305 user and default view rules.
7307 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7308 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7309 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7314 @node Other Decode Variables
7315 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7318 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7320 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7321 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7322 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7323 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7324 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7328 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7329 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7332 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7333 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7334 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7337 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7338 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7339 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7340 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7341 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7344 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7345 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7346 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7348 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7349 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7350 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7351 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7352 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7355 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7356 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7357 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7359 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7360 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7361 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7362 looking for files to display.
7364 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7365 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7366 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7369 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7370 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7371 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7374 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7375 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7376 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7379 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7380 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7381 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7384 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7385 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7386 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7387 decoded articles as unread.
7389 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7390 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7391 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7392 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7394 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7395 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7396 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7398 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7399 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7401 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7402 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7403 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7404 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7406 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7407 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7408 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7409 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7410 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7411 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7412 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7413 simply dropped them.
7418 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7419 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7423 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7424 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7425 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7426 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7427 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7428 for you when you post the article.
7430 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7431 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7432 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7433 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7435 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7436 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7437 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7438 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7439 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7440 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7441 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7443 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7444 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7445 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7446 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7447 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7448 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7449 Default is @code{t}.
7455 @subsection Viewing Files
7456 @cindex viewing files
7457 @cindex pseudo-articles
7459 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7460 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7461 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7462 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7463 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7464 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7465 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7467 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7468 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7469 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7470 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7472 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7473 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7474 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7476 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7477 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7478 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7479 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7480 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7482 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7483 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7484 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7485 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7486 a list of parameters to that command.
7488 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7489 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7490 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7492 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7493 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7494 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7497 @node Article Treatment
7498 @section Article Treatment
7500 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7501 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7502 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7503 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7504 these articles easier.
7507 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7508 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7509 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7510 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7511 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7512 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7513 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7514 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7518 @node Article Highlighting
7519 @subsection Article Highlighting
7520 @cindex highlighting
7522 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7523 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7528 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7529 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7530 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7531 Do much highlighting of the current article
7532 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7533 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7536 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7537 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7538 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7539 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7540 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7541 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7542 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7543 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7544 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7545 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7546 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7547 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7550 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7551 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7552 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7554 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7557 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7559 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7560 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7561 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7563 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7564 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7565 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7567 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7568 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7569 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7570 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7571 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7572 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7574 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7575 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7576 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7578 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7579 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7580 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7582 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7583 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7584 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7585 that it's a citation.
7587 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7588 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7589 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7591 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7592 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7593 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7595 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7596 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7597 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7598 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7604 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7605 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7606 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7607 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7608 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7609 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7610 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7611 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7616 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7619 @node Article Fontisizing
7620 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7622 @cindex article emphasis
7624 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7625 @kindex W e (Summary)
7626 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7627 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7628 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7629 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7631 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7632 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7633 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7634 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7635 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7636 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7637 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7638 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7642 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7643 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7644 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7653 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7654 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7655 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7656 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7657 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7658 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7659 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7660 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7661 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7662 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7663 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7664 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7665 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7667 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7668 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7669 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7673 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7676 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7678 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7679 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7680 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7681 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7683 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7686 @node Article Hiding
7687 @subsection Article Hiding
7688 @cindex article hiding
7690 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7691 too much cruft in most articles.
7696 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7697 @findex gnus-article-hide
7698 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7699 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7700 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7703 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7704 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7705 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7709 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7710 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7711 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7712 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7715 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7716 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7717 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7721 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7722 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7723 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7724 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7725 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7726 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7727 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7728 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7732 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7733 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7734 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7735 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7740 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7741 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7742 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7743 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7744 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7745 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7746 articles that have signatures in them do:
7748 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7750 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7752 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7753 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7755 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7758 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7763 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7764 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7765 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7766 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7769 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7770 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7773 @cindex stripping advertisements
7774 @cindex advertisements
7775 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7776 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7777 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7778 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7779 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7780 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7781 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7782 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7783 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7784 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7788 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7789 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7790 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7791 customizing the hiding:
7795 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7796 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7797 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7798 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7799 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7800 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7801 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7806 Starting point of the hidden text.
7808 Ending point of the hidden text.
7810 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7812 Number of lines of hidden text.
7815 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7816 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7817 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7818 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7819 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7824 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7825 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7827 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7828 following two variables:
7831 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7832 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7833 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7834 50), hide the cited text.
7836 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7837 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7838 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7843 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7844 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7845 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7846 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7847 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7848 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7852 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7853 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7854 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7856 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7857 citation customization.
7859 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7863 @node Article Washing
7864 @subsection Article Washing
7866 @cindex article washing
7868 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7869 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7871 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7872 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7875 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
7876 articles by default.
7881 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
7882 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
7886 @kindex W l (Summary)
7887 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7888 Remove page breaks from the current article
7889 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7893 @kindex W r (Summary)
7894 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7895 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7896 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7897 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7898 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7899 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7901 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7902 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7903 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7904 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7908 @kindex W t (Summary)
7910 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
7911 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7912 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
7915 @kindex W v (Summary)
7916 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7917 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7918 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7921 @kindex W o (Summary)
7922 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7923 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7926 @kindex W d (Summary)
7927 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7928 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7930 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
7932 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7933 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7934 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7935 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7938 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
7939 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
7940 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
7941 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
7944 @kindex W w (Summary)
7945 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7946 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7948 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7952 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7953 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7954 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7957 @kindex W C (Summary)
7958 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7959 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7960 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7963 @kindex W c (Summary)
7964 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7965 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7966 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7967 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7968 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7971 @kindex W q (Summary)
7972 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
7973 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
7974 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
7975 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
7976 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
7977 readable to me. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
7978 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
7979 header that says that this encoding has been done.
7980 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7983 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
7984 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
7985 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
7986 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
7987 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
7988 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
7989 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
7991 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7994 @kindex W Z (Summary)
7995 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
7996 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
7997 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
7998 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8001 @kindex W h (Summary)
8002 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8003 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
8004 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
8005 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
8007 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8010 @kindex W f (Summary)
8012 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8013 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
8014 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
8015 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
8022 Look for and display any X-Face headers
8023 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
8024 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
8025 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
8026 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
8027 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
8028 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
8029 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
8030 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
8031 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
8032 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.} to view the
8033 face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the
8034 default action is to display the face before the @code{From} header.
8035 (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face support---that will
8036 make display somewhat faster. If there's no native X-Face support, Gnus
8037 will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using external programs
8038 from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux
8039 system look for packages with names like @code{netpbm} or
8040 @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you want to have this function in the display
8041 hook, it should probably come last.
8042 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not @code{xface}).
8045 @kindex W b (Summary)
8046 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8047 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8048 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8051 @kindex W B (Summary)
8052 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8053 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8054 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8057 @kindex W p (Summary)
8058 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8059 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8060 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8061 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8062 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8063 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8064 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8067 @kindex W s (Summary)
8068 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8069 Verify a signed (PGP, PGP/MIME or S/MIME) message
8070 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}).
8073 @kindex W W H (Summary)
8074 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
8075 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8076 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
8079 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8080 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8081 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8082 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8085 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8086 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8087 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8088 lines with a single empty line.
8089 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8092 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8093 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8094 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8095 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8098 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8099 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8100 Do all the three commands above
8101 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8104 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8105 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8106 Remove all blank lines
8107 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8110 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8111 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8112 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8113 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8116 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8117 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8118 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8119 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8123 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8126 @node Article Buttons
8127 @subsection Article Buttons
8130 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8131 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8132 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8133 button on these references.
8135 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8136 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
8137 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
8142 @item gnus-button-alist
8143 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8144 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8147 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8153 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8154 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8155 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
8158 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8159 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8160 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8163 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8164 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8165 avoid false matches.
8168 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8171 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8172 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8176 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8179 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8182 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8183 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8184 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8185 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8186 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8189 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8192 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8194 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8195 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8196 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8197 default values of the variables above.
8199 @item gnus-article-button-face
8200 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8201 Face used on buttons.
8203 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8204 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8205 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8209 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8213 @subsection Article Date
8215 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8216 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8217 when the article was sent.
8222 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8223 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8224 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8225 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8228 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8229 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8231 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8232 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8235 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8236 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8237 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8240 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8241 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8242 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8243 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8246 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8247 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8248 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8249 @findex format-time-string
8250 Display the date using a user-defined format
8251 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8252 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8253 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8254 for a list of possible format specs.
8257 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8258 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8259 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8260 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8261 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8262 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8265 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8268 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8269 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8272 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8273 into wonderful absurdities.
8275 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8278 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8281 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8282 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8286 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8287 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8288 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8289 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8290 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8291 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8292 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8296 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8297 preferred format automatically.
8300 @node Article Signature
8301 @subsection Article Signature
8303 @cindex article signature
8305 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8306 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8307 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8308 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8309 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8310 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8311 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8312 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8313 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8316 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8317 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8318 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8319 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8320 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8321 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8322 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8323 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8326 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8329 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8330 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8331 signature when displaying articles.
8335 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8338 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8341 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8342 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8344 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8345 in question is not a signature.
8348 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8349 listed above. Here's an example:
8352 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8353 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8356 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8357 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8358 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8359 signature after all.
8362 @node Article Miscellania
8363 @subsection Article Miscellania
8367 @kindex A t (Summary)
8368 @findex gnus-article-babel
8369 Translate the article from one language to another
8370 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8376 @section @sc{mime} Commands
8377 @cindex MIME decoding
8379 @cindex viewing attachments
8381 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8382 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8388 @kindex K v (Summary)
8389 View the @sc{mime} part.
8392 @kindex K o (Summary)
8393 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8396 @kindex K c (Summary)
8397 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8400 @kindex K e (Summary)
8401 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8404 @kindex K i (Summary)
8405 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8408 @kindex K | (Summary)
8409 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8412 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8417 @kindex K b (Summary)
8418 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8419 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8423 @kindex K m (Summary)
8424 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8425 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8426 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8427 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8428 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8431 @kindex X m (Summary)
8432 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8433 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8434 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8435 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8438 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8439 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
8440 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8441 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8444 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8445 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8446 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8449 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8450 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8451 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8453 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8454 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8455 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8456 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
8457 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
8458 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8461 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8462 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8463 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8470 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8471 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8472 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8473 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8476 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8479 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8483 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8484 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8485 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8486 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8487 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8488 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8491 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8492 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8493 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8494 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8495 displayed. This variable overrides
8496 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8498 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8499 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8500 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8502 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8503 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8504 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8505 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8506 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8507 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8508 save all jpegs into some directory).
8510 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8513 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8514 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8516 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8517 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8518 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8519 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8520 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8523 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8524 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8525 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8527 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8528 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8529 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8530 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8532 Ready-made functions include@*
8533 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8534 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8535 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8536 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8537 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8538 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8539 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8540 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8541 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8542 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8543 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8544 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8546 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8547 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8549 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8550 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8551 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8554 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8555 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8556 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8557 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8561 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8570 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8571 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8572 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8573 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8574 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8575 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8576 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8578 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8579 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8580 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8581 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8583 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8584 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8585 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8586 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8587 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8588 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8589 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8590 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8592 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8593 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8594 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8595 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8596 quoted-printable header encoding.
8598 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8599 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8600 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8604 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8607 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8608 means encode all charsets),
8610 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8611 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8612 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8619 @cindex coding system aliases
8620 @cindex preferred charset
8622 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8624 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8625 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8628 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8629 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8632 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8633 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8635 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8638 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
8641 This will almost do the right thing.
8643 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
8647 (codepage-setup 1251)
8648 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
8652 @node Article Commands
8653 @section Article Commands
8660 @kindex A P (Summary)
8661 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
8662 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
8663 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
8664 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
8665 run just before printing the buffer.
8670 @node Summary Sorting
8671 @section Summary Sorting
8672 @cindex summary sorting
8674 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
8675 can't really see why you'd want that.
8680 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
8681 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
8682 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
8685 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
8686 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
8687 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8690 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8691 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8692 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8695 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8696 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8697 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8700 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8701 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8702 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8705 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8706 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8707 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8710 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8711 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8712 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8715 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
8716 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
8717 Sort using the default sorting method
8718 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
8721 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8722 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8723 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8724 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8725 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8729 @node Finding the Parent
8730 @section Finding the Parent
8731 @cindex parent articles
8732 @cindex referring articles
8737 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8738 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8739 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8740 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8741 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8742 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8743 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8744 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8745 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8747 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8748 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8749 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
8750 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8751 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8755 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8756 @kindex A R (Summary)
8757 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8758 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8761 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8762 @kindex A T (Summary)
8763 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8764 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8765 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8766 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8767 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8768 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8769 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8771 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8772 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8773 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8774 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8775 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8776 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8779 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8780 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8782 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8783 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8784 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8785 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8786 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8787 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8788 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8791 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8792 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8793 by giving this command a prefix.
8795 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8796 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
8797 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8798 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8799 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8800 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8803 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8804 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8805 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8808 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8809 then ask Deja if that fails:
8812 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8814 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8817 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
8818 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox}
8819 and @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8820 @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder} and @code{nnimap}1 are only able to locate
8821 articles that have been posted to the current group. (Anything else
8822 would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at
8826 @node Alternative Approaches
8827 @section Alternative Approaches
8829 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8830 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8833 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8834 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8839 @subsection Pick and Read
8840 @cindex pick and read
8842 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8843 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8844 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8845 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8847 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8848 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8849 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8850 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8851 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8852 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8854 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8859 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8860 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8861 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8862 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8863 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8864 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8865 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8866 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8869 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8870 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8871 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8872 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8876 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8877 Unpick the thread or article
8878 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8879 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8880 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8881 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8882 the thread or article at that line.
8886 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8887 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8888 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8889 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8890 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8891 will still be visible when you are reading.
8895 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8896 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8897 which is mapped to the same function
8898 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8900 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8903 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8906 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8907 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8909 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8910 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8911 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8913 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8914 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8915 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8916 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8917 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8918 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8919 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8923 @subsection Binary Groups
8924 @cindex binary groups
8926 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8927 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8928 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8929 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8930 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8931 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8932 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8935 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8936 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8937 command, when you have turned on this mode
8938 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8940 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8941 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8945 @section Tree Display
8948 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8949 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
8950 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8951 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8954 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8957 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8958 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8959 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8961 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8962 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8963 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8964 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8965 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8967 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8968 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8969 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8970 default is @code{modeline}.
8972 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8973 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8974 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8975 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8976 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8977 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8978 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8984 The name of the poster.
8986 The @code{From} header.
8988 The number of the article.
8990 The opening bracket.
8992 The closing bracket.
8997 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8999 Variables related to the display are:
9002 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9003 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9004 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9005 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9006 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9007 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9009 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9010 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9011 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9012 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9016 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9017 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9018 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9019 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9020 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9021 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9022 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9023 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9024 other windows displayed next to it.
9026 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9027 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9028 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9029 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9030 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9031 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9032 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9036 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9039 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9049 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9053 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9054 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9056 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9058 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9063 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9064 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9065 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9068 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9069 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9070 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9071 (gnus-add-configuration
9075 (summary 0.75 point)
9080 @xref{Window Layout}.
9083 @node Mail Group Commands
9084 @section Mail Group Commands
9085 @cindex mail group commands
9087 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9088 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9090 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9091 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9096 @kindex B e (Summary)
9097 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9098 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9099 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9100 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9101 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9104 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9105 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9106 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9107 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9108 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9109 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9112 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9113 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9114 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9115 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9116 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9117 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9120 @kindex B m (Summary)
9122 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9123 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9124 Move the article from one mail group to another
9125 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9126 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9129 @kindex B c (Summary)
9131 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9132 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9133 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9134 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9135 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9138 @kindex B B (Summary)
9139 @cindex crosspost mail
9140 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9141 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9142 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9143 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9144 be properly updated.
9147 @kindex B i (Summary)
9148 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9149 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9150 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9151 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9154 @kindex B r (Summary)
9155 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9156 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9157 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9158 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9159 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9160 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9161 (which is the default).
9165 @kindex B w (Summary)
9167 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9168 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9169 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9170 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9171 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9172 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9175 @kindex B q (Summary)
9176 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9177 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9178 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9179 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9182 @kindex B t (Summary)
9183 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9184 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9185 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9188 @kindex B p (Summary)
9189 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9190 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9191 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9192 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9193 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9194 article from your news server (or rather, from
9195 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9196 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9197 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9198 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9199 just not have arrived yet.
9203 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9204 @cindex moving articles
9205 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9206 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9207 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9208 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9209 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9210 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9211 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9214 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9215 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9216 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9217 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9221 @node Various Summary Stuff
9222 @section Various Summary Stuff
9225 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9226 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9227 * Summary Generation Commands::
9228 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9232 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9233 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9234 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9236 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9237 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9238 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9239 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9240 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9241 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9244 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9245 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9246 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9247 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9248 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9250 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9251 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9252 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9255 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9256 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9257 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9258 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9259 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9260 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9261 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9262 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9263 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9264 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9266 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9267 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9268 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9269 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9270 list of articles to be selected.
9272 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9273 the list in one particular group:
9276 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9277 (if (string= group "some.group")
9278 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9282 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9283 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9284 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9285 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9286 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9287 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9288 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9289 buffers. For example:
9292 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9293 '(message-use-followup-to
9294 (gnus-visible-headers .
9295 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9301 @node Summary Group Information
9302 @subsection Summary Group Information
9307 @kindex H f (Summary)
9308 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9309 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9310 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9311 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9312 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9313 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9314 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9315 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9316 be used for fetching the file.
9319 @kindex H d (Summary)
9320 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9321 Give a brief description of the current group
9322 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9323 rereading the description from the server.
9326 @kindex H h (Summary)
9327 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9328 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9329 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9332 @kindex H i (Summary)
9333 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9334 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9338 @node Searching for Articles
9339 @subsection Searching for Articles
9344 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9345 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9346 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9347 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9350 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9351 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9352 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9353 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9357 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9358 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9359 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9360 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9361 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9362 search backward instead.
9364 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9365 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9368 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9369 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9370 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9371 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9374 @node Summary Generation Commands
9375 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9380 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9381 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9382 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9385 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9386 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9387 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9388 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9393 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9394 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9400 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9401 @kindex A D (Summary)
9402 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9403 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9404 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9405 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9406 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9407 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9408 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9409 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9413 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9414 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9415 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9416 several documents into one biiig group
9417 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9418 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9419 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9420 command understands the process/prefix convention
9421 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9424 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9425 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9426 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9427 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9428 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9429 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9433 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9434 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9435 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9438 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
9439 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9440 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9441 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9444 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
9445 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9446 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9447 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9452 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9453 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9454 @cindex summary exit
9455 @cindex exiting groups
9457 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9458 group and return you to the group buffer.
9464 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9466 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9467 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9468 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9469 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9470 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9471 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9472 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9473 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9474 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9475 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9476 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9480 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9482 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9483 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9484 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9488 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9490 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9491 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9492 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9493 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9496 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9497 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9498 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9499 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9502 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9503 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9504 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9505 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9508 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9509 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9510 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9511 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9512 all articles, both read and unread.
9516 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9517 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9518 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9519 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9520 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9521 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9522 articles, both read and unread.
9525 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9526 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9527 Exit the group and go to the next group
9528 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9531 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9532 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9533 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9534 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9537 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9538 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9539 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9540 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9541 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9542 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9545 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9546 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9547 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9548 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9550 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9551 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9552 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9553 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9554 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9555 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9556 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9557 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9558 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9559 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9560 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9561 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9563 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9565 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9566 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9567 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9568 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9569 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9570 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9571 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9572 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9573 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9576 @node Crosspost Handling
9577 @section Crosspost Handling
9581 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
9582 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
9583 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
9584 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
9585 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
9586 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
9589 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
9590 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
9591 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
9592 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
9593 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
9595 @cindex cross-posting
9598 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
9599 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
9600 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
9601 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
9602 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
9603 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
9604 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
9605 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
9606 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
9607 the cross reference mechanism.
9609 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
9610 @cindex overview.fmt
9611 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
9612 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
9613 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
9614 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
9615 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
9616 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
9619 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
9620 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
9621 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
9626 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
9629 @node Duplicate Suppression
9630 @section Duplicate Suppression
9632 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
9633 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
9634 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
9635 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
9640 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
9641 is evil and not very common.
9644 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
9645 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
9648 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
9649 different @sc{nntp} servers.
9652 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
9655 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
9656 well, but these four are the most common situations.
9658 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
9659 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
9660 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
9661 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
9662 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
9663 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
9664 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
9667 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
9668 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
9669 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
9670 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
9671 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
9675 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
9676 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
9677 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
9679 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
9680 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
9681 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
9682 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
9683 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
9684 session are suppressed.
9686 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
9687 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
9688 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
9689 suppression list. The default is 10000.
9691 @item gnus-duplicate-file
9692 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
9693 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
9694 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
9697 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
9698 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
9699 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
9700 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
9701 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
9702 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
9703 to you to figure out, I think.
9708 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
9709 The formats that are supported are PGP (plain text, RFC 1991 format),
9710 PGP/MIME (RFC 2015/3156) and S/MIME, however you need some external
9711 programs to get things to work:
9715 To verify or decrypt PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or
9716 gpg.el as well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG). @xref{Using GPG}.
9719 To verify or decrypt S/MIME message, you need to install OpenSSL.
9720 OpenSSL 0.9.6 or newer is recommended.
9724 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
9725 manual. @xref{Security, ,Security, message, The Message Manual}.
9728 @item mm-verify-option
9729 @vindex mm-verify-option
9730 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
9731 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
9732 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9734 @item mm-decrypt-option
9735 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
9736 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
9737 @code{always}, always decrypt @code{known}, only decrypt known
9738 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9743 @section Mailing List
9745 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
9746 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
9747 possibly using @kbd{A M} in the summary buffer, or say:
9750 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
9753 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
9758 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
9759 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
9760 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
9763 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
9764 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
9765 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
9768 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
9769 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
9770 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
9774 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
9775 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
9776 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
9779 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
9780 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9781 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
9784 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
9785 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9786 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
9790 @node Article Buffer
9791 @chapter Article Buffer
9792 @cindex article buffer
9794 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
9795 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
9796 tell Gnus otherwise.
9799 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
9800 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
9801 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
9802 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
9803 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9807 @node Hiding Headers
9808 @section Hiding Headers
9809 @cindex hiding headers
9810 @cindex deleting headers
9812 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9813 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9815 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9816 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9817 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9818 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9819 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9820 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9821 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9822 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9823 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9825 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9829 @item gnus-visible-headers
9830 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9831 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9832 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9833 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9835 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9836 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9839 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9842 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9845 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9846 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9847 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9848 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9849 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9850 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9852 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
9853 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
9856 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9859 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9862 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9863 variable will have no effect.
9867 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9868 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9869 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9870 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9871 the headers are to be displayed.
9873 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9874 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9877 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9880 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9881 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9883 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9884 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9885 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9886 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
9887 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9888 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9889 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9892 These conditions are:
9895 Remove all empty headers.
9897 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9898 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9900 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9903 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9906 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
9907 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
9909 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9912 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9914 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9917 To include these three elements, you could say something like;
9920 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9921 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9924 This is also the default value for this variable.
9931 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9932 while people stand around yawning.
9934 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9935 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9937 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9938 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9939 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9941 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
9942 @findex gnus-display-mime
9943 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
9944 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
9945 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
9946 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
9948 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
9952 @findex gnus-article-press-button
9954 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
9955 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
9956 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
9958 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
9959 @item M-RET (Article)
9961 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9962 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
9964 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
9966 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
9967 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
9969 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
9971 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9972 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
9974 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
9976 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
9977 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
9979 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
9981 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
9982 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
9983 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
9984 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
9985 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
9986 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
9988 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
9990 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
9991 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
9993 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
9995 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
9996 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
9997 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
9998 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
9999 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10002 @findex gnus-mime-internalize-part
10004 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10005 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10006 (@code{gnus-mime-internalize-part}).
10008 @findex gnus-mime-externalize-part
10010 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
10011 (@code{gnus-mime-externalize-part}).
10013 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10015 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10017 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10019 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
10020 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10024 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10025 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
10028 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10029 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10030 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
10031 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10032 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10033 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10034 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10035 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10036 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10038 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10040 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10043 @node Customizing Articles
10044 @section Customizing Articles
10045 @cindex article customization
10047 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10048 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10049 called automatically when you select the articles.
10051 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10052 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10053 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10054 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10056 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10057 for sensible values.
10061 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10064 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10067 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10070 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10073 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10077 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10078 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10079 regexps in the list.
10082 A list where the first element is not a string:
10084 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10085 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10086 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10090 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10095 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10096 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10097 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10098 considered to contain just a single part.
10100 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10101 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10102 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10103 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10104 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10105 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10106 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10108 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10109 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10110 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10111 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10114 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10115 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10116 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10117 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10118 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10119 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10120 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10121 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10122 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10123 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10124 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
10125 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10126 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10127 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10128 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10129 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10130 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10131 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10132 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10133 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10134 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10135 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10136 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10137 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10138 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10139 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10140 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10141 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10142 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10143 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10144 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10145 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10146 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10147 @item gnus-treat-translate
10148 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10151 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10152 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10153 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10154 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10155 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10159 @node Article Keymap
10160 @section Article Keymap
10162 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10163 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10164 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10165 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10168 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10173 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10174 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10175 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10178 @kindex DEL (Article)
10179 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10180 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10183 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10184 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10185 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10186 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10187 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10190 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10191 @findex gnus-article-mail
10192 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10193 given a prefix, include the mail.
10196 @kindex s (Article)
10197 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10198 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10199 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10202 @kindex ? (Article)
10203 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10204 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10205 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10208 @kindex TAB (Article)
10209 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10210 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10211 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10214 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10215 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10216 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10222 @section Misc Article
10226 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10227 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10228 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10229 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10232 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10233 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10235 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10236 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10238 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10239 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10240 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10241 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10242 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10243 the contents of the article buffer.
10245 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10246 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10247 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10249 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10250 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10251 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10252 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10254 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10255 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10256 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10257 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10258 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10264 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10265 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10266 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10271 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10274 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10277 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10278 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10279 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10282 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10285 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10288 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10293 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10297 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10299 @item gnus-break-pages
10300 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10301 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10302 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10303 paging will not be done.
10305 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10306 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10307 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10312 @node Composing Messages
10313 @chapter Composing Messages
10314 @cindex composing messages
10317 @cindex sending mail
10323 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10324 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10325 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10326 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
10327 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10328 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10331 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10332 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
10333 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10334 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10335 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10336 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10337 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10338 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
10341 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10342 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10348 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10351 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10352 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10353 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10354 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10356 @item gnus-add-to-list
10357 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10358 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10359 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10364 @node Posting Server
10365 @section Posting Server
10367 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10368 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10370 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10372 @vindex gnus-post-method
10374 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will post using the same
10375 select method as you're reading from (which might be convenient if
10376 you're reading lots of groups from different private servers).
10377 However. If the server you're reading from doesn't allow posting,
10378 just reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
10379 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
10380 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10383 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10386 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10387 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10388 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10389 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10391 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10392 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10394 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10395 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10398 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10399 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
10402 @node Mail and Post
10403 @section Mail and Post
10405 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10409 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10410 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10411 @cindex mailing lists
10413 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10414 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10415 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10416 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10417 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10418 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10419 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10420 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10421 still a pain, though.
10425 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10426 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10427 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10430 @findex ispell-message
10432 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10435 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10436 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10439 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10443 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10444 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10446 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10449 Modify to suit your needs.
10452 @node Archived Messages
10453 @section Archived Messages
10454 @cindex archived messages
10455 @cindex sent messages
10457 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10458 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10459 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10460 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10463 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
10464 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
10465 use to store sent messages. The default is:
10468 (nnfolder "archive"
10469 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
10470 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
10471 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
10472 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
10475 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
10476 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
10477 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
10478 directory chosen, you could say something like:
10481 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
10482 '(nnfolder "archive"
10483 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
10484 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
10485 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
10488 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
10490 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
10491 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
10492 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
10494 This variable can be used to do the following:
10499 Messages will be saved in that group.
10501 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
10502 message will not be stored in the select method given by
10503 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
10504 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
10505 has the default value shown above. Then setting
10506 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
10507 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
10508 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
10512 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
10514 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
10515 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
10518 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
10523 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
10525 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
10528 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
10530 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
10533 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
10535 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10536 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
10537 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
10538 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
10541 More complex stuff:
10543 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10544 '((if (message-news-p)
10549 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
10550 messages in one file per month:
10553 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10554 '((if (message-news-p)
10556 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
10559 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
10560 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
10562 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
10563 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
10564 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
10565 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
10566 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
10567 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
10568 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
10569 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
10570 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
10571 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
10573 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
10574 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
10575 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
10576 this will disable archiving.
10579 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
10580 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
10581 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
10582 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
10583 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
10586 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
10587 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
10588 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
10591 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
10592 but the latter is the preferred method.
10594 @item gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10595 @vindex gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10596 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
10601 @node Posting Styles
10602 @section Posting Styles
10603 @cindex posting styles
10606 All them variables, they make my head swim.
10608 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
10609 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
10610 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
10613 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
10614 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
10615 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
10616 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
10617 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
10622 (signature "Peace and happiness")
10623 (organization "What me?"))
10625 (signature "Death to everybody"))
10626 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
10627 (organization "Emacs is it")))
10630 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
10631 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
10632 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
10633 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
10634 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
10635 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
10636 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
10637 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
10639 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
10640 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
10641 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header (the
10642 next element in the match) in the original article , and compare that to
10643 the last regexp in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function
10644 will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the
10645 variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be
10646 @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value,
10647 then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
10649 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
10650 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
10651 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
10652 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
10653 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
10654 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
10655 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
10656 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
10657 result is thrown away.
10659 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
10660 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
10661 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
10662 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
10663 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
10664 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
10666 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
10667 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
10668 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
10670 @findex message-mail-p
10671 @findex message-news-p
10673 So here's a new example:
10676 (setq gnus-posting-styles
10678 (signature-file "~/.signature")
10680 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
10681 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
10683 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
10684 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
10685 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
10687 (signature my-news-signature))
10688 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
10689 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
10690 ((posting-from-work-p)
10691 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
10692 (address "user@@bar.foo")
10693 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
10694 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
10696 (From (save-excursion
10697 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
10698 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
10700 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
10703 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
10704 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
10705 if you fill many roles.
10712 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
10713 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
10714 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
10715 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
10716 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
10718 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
10719 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
10720 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
10721 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
10722 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
10726 @vindex nndraft-directory
10727 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
10728 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
10729 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
10730 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
10731 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
10732 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
10734 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
10735 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
10738 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
10739 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
10740 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
10741 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
10742 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
10743 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
10744 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
10745 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
10746 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
10747 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
10748 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
10749 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
10750 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
10751 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
10753 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
10754 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
10755 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
10757 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
10758 @kindex D e (Draft)
10759 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
10760 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
10761 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
10763 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
10766 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
10767 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
10768 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
10769 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
10770 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
10771 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
10772 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
10775 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
10776 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
10777 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
10780 @node Rejected Articles
10781 @section Rejected Articles
10782 @cindex rejected articles
10784 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
10785 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
10786 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
10787 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
10789 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
10790 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
10791 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
10792 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
10793 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
10795 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
10796 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
10797 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
10803 Gnus has an ALPHA support to GPG that's provided by @file{gpg.el}. See
10804 @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} to enable Gnus to
10805 verify or decrypt messages accordingly.
10807 To use this correctly with GPG, you'll need the following lisp code in your
10808 @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10812 (setq mml2015-use 'gpg)
10813 (setq mml1991-use 'gpg)
10814 (setq gpg-temp-directory (expand-file-name "~/.gnupg/tmp"))
10817 The @code{gpg-temp-directory} need to point to a directory with permissions set
10818 to 700, for your own safety.
10820 If you want to benefit of PGP2.6 compatibility, you might create a script named
10821 @file{gpg-2comp} with these instructions:
10825 exec gpg --rfc1991 "$@@"
10828 If you don't want to use such compatibility, you can add the following line to
10829 your @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10832 (setq gpg-command-default-alist (quote ((gpg . "gpg") (gpg-2comp . "gpg"))))
10835 To sign or encrypt your message you may choose to use the MML Security
10836 menu or @kbd{C-c C-m s p} to sign your message using PGP/MIME,
10837 @kbd{C-c C-m s s} to sign your message using S/MIME. There's also
10838 @kbd{C-c C-m c p} to encrypt your message with PGP/MIME and @kbd{C-c
10839 C-m c s} to encrypt using S/MIME. @xref{Security, ,Security, message,
10840 The Message Manual}.
10842 Gnus will ask for your passphrase and then it will send your message, if
10843 you've typed it correctly.
10845 @node Select Methods
10846 @chapter Select Methods
10847 @cindex foreign groups
10848 @cindex select methods
10850 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
10851 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
10852 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
10853 personal mail group.
10855 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
10856 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
10857 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
10858 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
10859 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
10860 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
10862 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
10863 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
10865 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
10868 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
10869 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
10870 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
10871 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
10872 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
10874 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
10877 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
10878 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
10879 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
10880 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
10881 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
10882 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
10883 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
10884 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
10888 @node Server Buffer
10889 @section Server Buffer
10891 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
10892 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
10893 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
10894 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
10895 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
10896 back end represents a virtual server.
10898 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
10899 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
10900 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
10901 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
10903 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
10904 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
10905 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
10906 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
10907 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
10908 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
10909 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
10911 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
10912 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
10915 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
10916 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
10917 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
10918 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
10919 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
10920 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
10921 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
10924 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
10925 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
10928 @node Server Buffer Format
10929 @subsection Server Buffer Format
10930 @cindex server buffer format
10932 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
10933 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
10934 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
10935 variable, with some simple extensions:
10940 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
10943 The name of this server.
10946 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
10949 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
10952 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
10953 The mode line can also be customized by using the
10954 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
10955 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
10965 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
10968 @node Server Commands
10969 @subsection Server Commands
10970 @cindex server commands
10976 @findex gnus-server-add-server
10977 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
10981 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
10982 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
10985 @kindex SPACE (Server)
10986 @findex gnus-server-read-server
10987 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
10991 @findex gnus-server-exit
10992 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
10996 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
10997 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11001 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11002 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11006 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11007 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11011 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11012 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11016 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11017 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11018 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11023 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11024 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11025 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11026 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11031 @node Example Methods
11032 @subsection Example Methods
11034 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11037 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11040 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11046 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11047 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11050 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11051 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11053 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11054 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11058 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11061 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11062 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11064 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11065 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11066 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11070 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11073 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11076 Here's the method for a public spool:
11080 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11081 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11087 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11088 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11089 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11090 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11091 should probably look something like this:
11095 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11096 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11097 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11098 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11101 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11102 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11103 configuration to the example above:
11106 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11109 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11110 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11111 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11115 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11116 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11117 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11118 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11121 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11122 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11123 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11124 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11127 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11128 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11130 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11131 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11133 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11134 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11135 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11137 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11139 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11140 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11141 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11142 will contain the following:
11152 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11153 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11154 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11157 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11158 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11159 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11162 @node Server Variables
11163 @subsection Server Variables
11165 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11166 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11167 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11168 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11169 won't change the "derived" variables.
11171 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11172 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11173 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11174 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11175 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11176 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11177 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11178 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11179 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11183 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11184 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11185 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11189 @node Servers and Methods
11190 @subsection Servers and Methods
11192 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11193 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11194 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11195 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11199 @node Unavailable Servers
11200 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11202 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11203 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11204 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11205 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11206 actually the case or not.
11208 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11209 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11210 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11211 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11212 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11213 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11214 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11215 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11217 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11218 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11220 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11221 with the following commands:
11227 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11228 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11229 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11233 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11234 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11235 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11239 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11240 Mark the current server as unreachable
11241 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11244 @kindex M-o (Server)
11245 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11246 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11247 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11250 @kindex M-c (Server)
11251 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11252 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11253 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11257 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11258 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11259 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11265 @section Getting News
11266 @cindex reading news
11267 @cindex news back ends
11269 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11270 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11271 or it can read from a local spool.
11274 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11275 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11280 @subsection @sc{nntp}
11283 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11284 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11285 server as the, uhm, address.
11287 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11288 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11289 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11290 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11292 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11293 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11294 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11296 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11301 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11302 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11303 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11305 @cindex authentification
11306 @cindex nntp authentification
11307 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11308 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11309 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11310 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11311 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11312 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11313 present in this hook.
11315 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11316 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11317 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11318 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11319 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11320 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11321 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11322 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11323 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11324 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11325 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11326 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11330 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11333 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11335 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11336 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11337 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11338 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11339 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11340 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11341 @samp{force} is explained below.
11345 Here's an example file:
11348 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11349 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11352 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11353 have to be first, for instance.
11355 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11356 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11357 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11358 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11359 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11360 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11361 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11363 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11364 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11370 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11371 previously mentioned.
11373 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11375 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11376 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11377 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11378 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11379 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11382 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11383 '(("innd" (ding))))
11386 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11388 The default value is
11391 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
11392 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
11393 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
11396 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
11397 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
11399 @item nntp-maximum-request
11400 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
11401 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
11402 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
11403 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
11404 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
11405 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
11406 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
11408 @item nntp-connection-timeout
11409 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
11410 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
11411 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
11412 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
11413 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
11414 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
11415 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
11416 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
11417 no timeouts are done.
11419 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
11420 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
11421 @c @cindex PPP connections
11422 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
11423 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
11424 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
11425 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
11426 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
11427 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
11428 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
11429 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
11430 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
11431 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
11433 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
11434 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
11435 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
11436 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
11437 @c described above.
11439 @item nntp-server-hook
11440 @vindex nntp-server-hook
11441 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
11444 @item nntp-buggy-select
11445 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
11446 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
11448 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
11449 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
11450 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
11451 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
11454 @item nntp-xover-commands
11455 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
11458 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
11459 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
11463 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
11464 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
11465 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
11466 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
11467 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
11468 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
11469 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
11470 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
11471 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
11472 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
11473 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
11475 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
11476 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
11477 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
11479 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11480 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11481 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
11482 server closes connection.
11484 @item nntp-record-commands
11485 @vindex nntp-record-commands
11486 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
11487 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
11488 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
11489 that doesn't seem to work.
11491 @item nntp-open-connection-function
11492 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
11493 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
11494 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
11495 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
11496 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
11497 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
11498 indirect ones (two pre-made).
11500 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
11501 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
11502 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
11503 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
11504 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
11505 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
11506 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
11509 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
11514 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
11515 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
11516 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
11520 @node Direct Functions
11521 @subsubsection Direct Functions
11522 @cindex direct connection functions
11524 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
11525 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
11526 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
11527 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11530 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
11531 @item nntp-open-network-stream
11532 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
11535 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
11536 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
11537 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
11538 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
11539 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
11540 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
11541 define a server as follows:
11544 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
11546 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
11548 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
11549 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
11550 (nntp-port-number "snews")
11551 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
11554 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
11555 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
11556 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
11557 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
11558 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
11559 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
11560 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
11561 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
11565 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11566 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
11567 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
11570 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
11571 session, which is not a good idea.
11575 @node Indirect Functions
11576 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
11577 @cindex indirect connection functions
11579 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
11580 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
11581 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
11582 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
11583 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
11584 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11587 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11588 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11589 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
11590 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
11591 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
11593 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11596 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
11597 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
11598 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
11599 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
11602 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11603 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11604 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
11605 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
11607 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11610 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
11611 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
11612 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
11615 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
11616 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
11617 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
11618 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
11620 @item nntp-via-user-password
11621 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
11622 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
11624 @item nntp-via-envuser
11625 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
11626 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
11627 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
11628 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
11630 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
11631 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
11632 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
11633 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
11640 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
11645 @item nntp-via-user-name
11646 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
11647 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
11649 @item nntp-via-address
11650 @vindex nntp-via-address
11651 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
11656 @node Common Variables
11657 @subsubsection Common Variables
11659 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
11660 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
11665 @item nntp-pre-command
11666 @vindex nntp-pre-command
11667 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
11668 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
11669 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
11670 wrapper for instance.
11673 @vindex nntp-address
11674 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
11676 @item nntp-port-number
11677 @vindex nntp-port-number
11678 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
11680 @item nntp-end-of-line
11681 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
11682 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
11683 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
11684 using a non native connection function.
11686 @item nntp-telnet-command
11687 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
11688 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
11689 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
11690 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
11692 @item nntp-telnet-switches
11693 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
11694 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
11701 @subsection News Spool
11705 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
11706 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
11707 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
11710 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
11711 anything else) as the address.
11713 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
11714 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
11715 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
11716 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
11720 @item nnspool-inews-program
11721 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
11722 Program used to post an article.
11724 @item nnspool-inews-switches
11725 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
11726 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
11728 @item nnspool-spool-directory
11729 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
11730 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
11731 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
11733 @item nnspool-nov-directory
11734 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
11735 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
11736 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
11738 @item nnspool-lib-dir
11739 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
11740 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
11742 @item nnspool-active-file
11743 @vindex nnspool-active-file
11744 The path to the active file.
11746 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
11747 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
11748 The path to the group descriptions file.
11750 @item nnspool-history-file
11751 @vindex nnspool-history-file
11752 The path to the news history file.
11754 @item nnspool-active-times-file
11755 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
11756 The path to the active date file.
11758 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
11759 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
11760 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
11763 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11764 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11766 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
11767 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
11768 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
11774 @section Getting Mail
11775 @cindex reading mail
11778 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
11782 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
11783 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
11784 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
11785 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
11786 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
11787 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
11788 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
11789 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
11790 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
11791 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
11792 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
11793 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
11794 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
11795 * Archiving Mail:: How to backup your mail.
11799 @node Mail in a Newsreader
11800 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
11802 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
11803 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
11804 of a culture shock.
11806 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
11807 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
11809 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
11810 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
11811 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
11812 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
11814 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
11816 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
11817 deleted? How awful!
11819 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
11820 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
11821 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
11822 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
11825 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
11826 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
11827 they want to treat a message.
11829 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
11830 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
11831 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
11832 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
11833 archived somewhere else.
11835 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
11836 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
11837 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
11838 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
11839 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
11841 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
11842 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
11843 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
11845 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
11846 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
11849 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
11850 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
11851 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
11852 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
11853 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
11855 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
11856 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
11857 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
11858 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
11859 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
11860 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
11864 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
11865 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
11867 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
11868 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
11869 and things will happen automatically.
11871 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
11872 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
11875 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11878 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
11879 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
11880 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
11881 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
11882 like any other group.
11884 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
11887 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11888 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11889 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11893 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
11894 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
11895 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
11898 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
11899 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
11900 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
11903 @node Splitting Mail
11904 @subsection Splitting Mail
11905 @cindex splitting mail
11906 @cindex mail splitting
11908 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
11909 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
11910 to be split into groups.
11913 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11914 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11915 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11916 ("mail.other" "")))
11919 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
11920 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
11921 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
11922 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
11923 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
11924 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
11925 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
11928 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
11931 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
11932 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
11933 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
11934 mail belongs in that group.
11936 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
11937 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
11938 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
11939 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
11940 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
11941 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
11943 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
11944 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
11945 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
11946 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
11947 thinks should carry this mail message.
11949 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
11950 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
11951 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
11952 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
11954 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
11955 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
11956 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
11957 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
11958 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
11960 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
11963 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
11964 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
11965 links. If that's the case for you, set
11966 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
11967 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
11969 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
11970 @kindex nnmail-split-history
11971 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
11972 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
11973 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
11974 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
11977 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
11978 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
11979 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
11980 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
11981 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
11982 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
11983 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
11984 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
11985 month's rent money.
11989 @subsection Mail Sources
11991 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
11992 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
11996 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
11997 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
11998 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12002 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12003 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12005 @cindex mail server
12008 @cindex mail source
12010 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12011 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12016 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12019 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12020 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12021 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12024 The following mail source types are available:
12028 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12034 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12035 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
12038 An example file mail source:
12041 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12044 Or using the default path:
12050 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12051 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12052 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12055 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12059 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12062 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12066 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12069 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12071 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12074 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12078 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
12079 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
12080 That is, mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in the
12081 group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12082 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12083 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus
12084 to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you
12085 want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12091 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12095 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12099 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12100 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12101 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12102 predicate are considered.
12106 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12110 An example directory mail source:
12113 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12118 Get mail from a POP server.
12124 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12125 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12128 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12129 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12130 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12131 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12132 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12135 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12139 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12143 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12144 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12147 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12150 The valid format specifier characters are:
12154 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12155 included in this string.
12158 The name of the server.
12161 The port number of the server.
12164 The user name to use.
12167 The password to use.
12170 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12171 corresponding keywords.
12174 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12175 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12178 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12179 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12182 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12183 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12186 @item :authentication
12187 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12188 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12193 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12194 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12196 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12197 default user name, and default fetcher:
12203 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12206 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12207 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12210 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12213 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12217 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12218 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12219 contains exactly one mail.
12225 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12226 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12229 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12230 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12232 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12233 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12234 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12237 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12238 from locking problems).
12242 Two example maildir mail sources:
12245 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12246 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12250 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12255 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12256 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12257 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12258 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12261 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
12262 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
12268 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12269 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12272 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12273 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
12276 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12280 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12284 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12285 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12286 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12287 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12289 @item :authentication
12290 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12291 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12292 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12293 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12296 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12297 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12298 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12304 The valid format specifier characters are:
12308 The name of the server.
12311 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12314 The port number of the server.
12317 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12318 corresponding keywords.
12321 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12322 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12325 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12326 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12327 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12328 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
12329 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12330 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
12333 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12334 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12335 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12336 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
12339 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
12340 after finishing the fetch.
12344 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
12347 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
12349 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
12353 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
12354 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
12356 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
12359 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
12360 required for url "4.0pre.46".
12362 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
12368 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
12369 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
12372 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
12376 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
12380 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
12381 folder after finishing the fetch.
12385 An example webmail source:
12388 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
12390 :password "secret")
12395 @item Common Keywords
12396 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
12402 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
12403 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
12407 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
12412 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
12413 useful when you use local mail and news.
12418 @subsubsection Function Interface
12420 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
12421 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
12422 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
12423 consider the following mail-source setting:
12426 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
12427 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
12430 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
12431 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
12432 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
12433 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
12434 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
12436 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
12439 @node Mail Source Customization
12440 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
12442 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
12443 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
12447 @item mail-source-crash-box
12448 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
12449 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
12450 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
12452 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
12453 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
12454 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
12456 @item mail-source-directory
12457 @vindex mail-source-directory
12458 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
12459 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
12460 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
12463 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12464 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12465 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
12466 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
12467 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
12468 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
12470 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
12471 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
12472 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
12474 @item mail-source-movemail-program
12475 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
12476 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
12477 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
12482 @node Fetching Mail
12483 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
12485 @vindex mail-sources
12486 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
12487 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
12488 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
12489 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
12491 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
12492 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
12495 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
12496 mail server, you'd say something like:
12501 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12502 :password "secret")))
12505 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
12509 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
12510 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12513 :password "secret")))
12517 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
12518 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
12519 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
12520 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
12521 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
12522 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
12526 @node Mail Back End Variables
12527 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
12529 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
12533 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12534 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12535 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
12536 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
12538 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
12539 @item nnmail-split-hook
12540 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
12541 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
12542 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
12543 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
12544 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
12545 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
12546 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
12547 in the buffer will show up in any files.
12548 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
12551 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12552 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12553 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12554 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12555 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
12556 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
12557 starting to handle the new mail) and
12558 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
12559 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
12560 default file modes the new mail files get:
12563 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12564 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
12566 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12567 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
12570 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
12571 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
12572 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
12573 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
12574 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
12575 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
12576 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
12578 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
12579 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
12580 @findex delete-file
12581 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
12583 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12584 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12585 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
12586 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
12587 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
12592 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
12593 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
12594 @cindex mail splitting
12595 @cindex fancy mail splitting
12597 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
12598 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
12599 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
12600 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
12601 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
12602 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
12604 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
12607 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
12608 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
12609 ;; from real errors.
12610 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
12612 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
12613 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
12614 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
12615 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
12616 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
12617 ;; Other mailing lists...
12618 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
12619 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
12620 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
12621 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
12622 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
12623 ;; message was really cross-posted.
12624 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
12625 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
12627 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
12628 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
12632 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
12633 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
12634 the five possible split syntaxes:
12639 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
12640 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
12644 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
12645 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
12646 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
12647 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
12648 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
12649 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
12650 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
12651 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
12654 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12655 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
12656 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
12657 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
12660 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12661 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
12664 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
12665 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
12668 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
12669 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
12670 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
12671 function should return a @var{split}.
12674 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
12675 body of the messages:
12678 (defun split-on-body ()
12680 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
12681 (goto-char (point-min))
12682 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
12686 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
12687 when the @code{:} function is run.
12690 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12691 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
12692 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
12696 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
12700 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
12701 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
12702 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
12703 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
12704 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
12706 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
12707 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
12708 are expanded as specified by the variable
12709 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
12710 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
12713 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
12714 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
12715 when all this splitting is performed.
12717 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
12718 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
12719 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
12722 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
12725 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
12726 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
12728 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
12729 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
12730 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
12731 groupings 1 through 9.
12733 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
12734 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
12735 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
12736 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
12737 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
12738 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
12739 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
12740 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
12741 it once per thread.
12743 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
12744 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
12745 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
12748 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12749 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
12750 ;; other splits go here
12754 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
12755 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
12756 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
12757 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
12758 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
12759 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
12760 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
12761 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
12762 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
12763 unless the group name matches the regexp
12764 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
12765 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
12766 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
12767 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
12768 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12769 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
12770 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
12771 messages goes into the new group.
12774 @node Group Mail Splitting
12775 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
12776 @cindex mail splitting
12777 @cindex group mail splitting
12779 @findex gnus-group-split
12780 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
12781 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
12782 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
12783 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
12784 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
12785 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
12786 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
12787 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
12789 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
12790 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
12791 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
12792 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
12794 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
12795 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
12796 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
12797 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
12798 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
12799 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
12800 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
12802 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
12803 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
12804 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
12805 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
12806 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
12807 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
12808 @code{gnus-group-split}.
12810 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
12811 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
12812 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
12813 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
12814 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
12815 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
12816 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
12817 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
12818 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
12819 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
12820 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
12821 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
12822 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
12824 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
12829 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
12830 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
12832 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
12833 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
12834 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
12835 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
12837 ((split-spec . catch-all))
12840 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
12841 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
12842 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
12845 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
12846 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
12847 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
12851 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
12852 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
12853 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
12857 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
12860 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
12861 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
12862 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
12863 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
12864 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
12865 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
12866 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
12867 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
12868 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
12870 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
12871 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
12872 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
12873 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
12874 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
12875 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
12876 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
12877 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
12878 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
12880 @findex gnus-group-split-update
12881 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
12882 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
12883 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
12884 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
12885 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
12888 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
12891 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
12892 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
12893 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
12894 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
12895 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
12898 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
12899 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
12900 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
12901 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
12903 @node Incorporating Old Mail
12904 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
12905 @cindex incorporating old mail
12906 @cindex import old mail
12908 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
12909 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
12910 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
12913 Doing so can be quite easy.
12915 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
12916 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
12917 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
12918 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
12919 your @code{nnml} groups.
12925 Go to the group buffer.
12928 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
12929 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12932 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
12935 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
12936 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
12939 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
12940 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
12943 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
12944 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
12945 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
12946 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
12947 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
12949 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
12950 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
12951 using the new mail back end.
12954 @node Expiring Mail
12955 @subsection Expiring Mail
12956 @cindex article expiry
12958 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
12959 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
12960 different approach to mail reading.
12962 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
12963 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
12964 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
12965 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
12966 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
12967 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
12970 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
12971 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
12972 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
12973 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
12974 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
12975 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
12976 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
12977 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
12979 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12980 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
12981 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
12982 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
12983 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
12984 column in the summary buffer.
12986 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
12987 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
12988 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
12989 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
12992 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
12994 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
12995 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
12996 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
12999 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13000 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13001 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13002 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13003 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13005 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13006 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13009 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13010 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13013 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13014 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13016 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13017 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13018 don't really mix very well.
13020 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13021 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13022 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13023 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13026 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13027 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13028 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13029 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13032 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13034 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13036 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13038 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13040 ((string= group "important")
13046 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13047 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13049 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13050 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13051 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13054 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13055 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13057 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13058 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13059 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
13060 other groups instead of deleting them. The variable @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
13061 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
13062 variable supplies a default value for all groups, which can be
13063 overridden for specific groups by the group parameter.
13064 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
13065 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
13066 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
13067 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
13068 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
13071 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13073 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13077 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13078 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13079 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13080 easier for procmail users.
13082 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13083 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13084 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13085 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13086 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13087 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13088 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13089 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13090 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13091 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13092 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13093 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13094 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13097 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13099 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
13100 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
13101 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
13102 auto-expire turned on.
13106 @subsection Washing Mail
13107 @cindex mail washing
13108 @cindex list server brain damage
13109 @cindex incoming mail treatment
13111 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
13112 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
13113 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
13114 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
13115 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
13116 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
13118 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
13119 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
13120 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
13123 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
13124 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
13125 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
13126 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
13129 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13130 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13131 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
13132 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
13133 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
13136 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13137 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13138 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
13139 Emacs running on MS machines.
13143 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13144 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13145 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
13146 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
13149 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13150 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13151 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
13152 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
13154 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13155 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13156 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
13157 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
13158 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
13159 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
13160 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
13163 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
13164 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
13167 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
13168 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
13171 This can also be done non-destructively with
13172 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
13174 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
13175 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
13176 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
13178 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13179 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13181 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
13182 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
13183 @code{References} headers.
13187 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13188 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13189 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
13193 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
13194 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
13195 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
13202 @subsection Duplicates
13204 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
13205 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
13206 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13207 @cindex duplicate mails
13208 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
13209 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
13210 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
13211 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
13212 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
13213 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
13214 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
13215 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
13216 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
13217 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
13218 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
13219 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
13220 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
13222 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13223 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13224 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13225 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13227 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13230 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13231 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13235 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13236 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13237 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13238 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13239 (any mail "mail.misc")
13246 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13247 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13252 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13253 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13254 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13255 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13256 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13259 @node Not Reading Mail
13260 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13262 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13263 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13264 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13266 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13267 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13268 mail, which should help.
13270 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13271 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13272 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13273 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13274 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13275 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
13276 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
13277 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
13278 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
13279 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
13280 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
13282 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
13283 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
13287 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
13288 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
13290 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
13291 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
13292 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
13294 There are five different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
13295 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
13296 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
13297 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
13300 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
13301 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
13302 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
13303 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
13304 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
13305 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
13309 @node Unix Mail Box
13310 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
13312 @cindex unix mail box
13314 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13315 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13316 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
13317 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
13318 which group it belongs in.
13320 Virtual server settings:
13323 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
13324 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13325 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
13328 @item nnmbox-active-file
13329 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13330 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
13331 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
13333 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
13334 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13335 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
13336 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
13341 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
13345 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13346 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13347 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
13348 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
13349 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
13351 Virtual server settings:
13354 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
13355 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13356 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
13358 @item nnbabyl-active-file
13359 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13360 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
13361 @file{~/.rmail-active}
13363 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13364 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13365 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
13371 @subsubsection Mail Spool
13373 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
13375 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
13376 format. It should be used with some caution.
13378 @vindex nnml-directory
13379 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
13380 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
13381 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
13382 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
13384 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
13387 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
13388 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
13389 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
13390 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
13391 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
13392 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
13393 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
13394 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
13396 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
13397 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
13398 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
13399 back end when it comes to reading mail.
13401 @cindex self contained nnml servers
13402 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
13403 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
13404 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
13405 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
13406 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
13407 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
13408 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
13409 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
13412 Virtual server settings:
13415 @item nnml-directory
13416 @vindex nnml-directory
13417 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
13418 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
13421 @item nnml-active-file
13422 @vindex nnml-active-file
13423 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
13424 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
13426 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
13427 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
13428 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13429 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
13431 @item nnml-get-new-mail
13432 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13433 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
13436 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
13437 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
13438 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13439 default is @code{nil}.
13441 @item nnml-nov-file-name
13442 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
13443 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
13445 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13446 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13447 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
13449 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
13450 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
13451 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
13452 default is @code{nil}.
13454 @item nnml-marks-file-name
13455 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
13456 The name of the @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
13460 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
13461 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
13462 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
13463 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
13464 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
13465 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
13466 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
13471 @subsubsection MH Spool
13473 @cindex mh-e mail spool
13475 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
13476 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
13477 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
13478 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
13480 Virtual server settings:
13483 @item nnmh-directory
13484 @vindex nnmh-directory
13485 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
13486 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13489 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
13490 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13491 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
13495 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
13496 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
13497 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
13498 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
13499 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
13500 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
13501 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
13506 @subsubsection Mail Folders
13508 @cindex mbox folders
13509 @cindex mail folders
13511 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
13512 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
13513 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
13516 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
13517 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
13518 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
13519 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
13520 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
13521 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
13522 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
13523 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
13524 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
13525 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
13526 @code{nnfolder} directory).
13528 Virtual server settings:
13531 @item nnfolder-directory
13532 @vindex nnfolder-directory
13533 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
13534 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13537 @item nnfolder-active-file
13538 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
13539 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
13541 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13542 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13543 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13544 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
13546 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
13547 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13548 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
13551 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13552 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13553 @cindex backup files
13554 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
13555 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
13556 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
13557 your @file{.emacs} file:
13560 (defun turn-off-backup ()
13561 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
13563 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
13566 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13567 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13568 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
13569 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
13570 extract some information from it before removing it.
13572 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13573 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13574 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13575 default is @code{nil}.
13577 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
13578 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
13579 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
13581 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
13582 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
13583 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
13584 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
13586 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
13587 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
13588 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
13589 default is @code{nil}.
13591 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
13592 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
13593 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
13595 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
13596 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
13597 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
13598 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
13603 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
13604 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
13605 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
13606 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
13607 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
13608 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
13611 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
13612 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
13614 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
13615 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
13616 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
13617 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
13618 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
13620 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
13621 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
13622 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
13623 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
13624 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
13625 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
13626 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
13627 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
13630 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
13631 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
13632 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
13633 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
13638 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
13639 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
13640 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
13641 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
13642 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
13643 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
13644 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
13645 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
13646 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
13647 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
13648 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
13649 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
13650 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
13655 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
13656 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
13657 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
13658 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
13659 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
13660 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
13661 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
13662 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
13663 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
13664 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
13665 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
13666 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
13667 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
13668 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
13670 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
13671 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
13676 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
13677 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
13678 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
13679 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
13680 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
13681 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
13682 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
13683 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
13684 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
13685 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
13686 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
13687 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
13688 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
13689 provided by the active file and overviews.
13691 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
13692 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
13693 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
13694 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
13695 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
13698 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
13699 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
13704 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
13705 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
13706 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
13707 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
13708 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
13709 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
13710 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
13714 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
13715 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
13716 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
13717 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
13718 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
13719 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
13720 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
13721 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
13722 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
13724 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
13725 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
13726 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
13727 friendly mail back end all over.
13732 @node Browsing the Web
13733 @section Browsing the Web
13735 @cindex browsing the web
13739 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
13740 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
13741 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
13742 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
13743 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
13744 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
13745 even know what a news group is.
13747 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
13748 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
13749 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
13750 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
13751 you mad in the end.
13753 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
13756 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
13757 interfaces to these sources.
13760 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
13761 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
13762 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
13763 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
13764 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
13765 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
13768 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
13770 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
13771 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
13772 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
13773 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
13774 though, you should be ok.
13776 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
13777 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
13778 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
13779 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
13780 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
13782 @node Archiving Mail
13783 @subsection Archiving Mail
13784 @cindex archiving mail
13785 @cindex backup of mail
13787 Some of the back ends, notably nnml and nnfolder, now actually store
13788 the article marks with each group. For these servers, archiving and
13789 restoring a group while preserving marks is fairly simple.
13791 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
13792 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @code{.newsrc.eld} deity
13795 To archive an entire @code{nnml} or @code{nnfolder} server, take a
13796 recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need to shut down
13797 Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or similar. You
13798 restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and adding a server
13799 definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The @ref{Article
13800 Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things might interfer
13801 with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus before you
13804 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml} or
13805 @code{nnfolder} groups, while preserving marks. For @code{nnml}, you
13806 copy all files in the group's directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need
13807 to copy both the base folder file itself (@code{FOO}, say), and the
13808 marks file (@code{FOO.mrk} in this example). Restoring the group is
13809 done with @kbd{G m} from the Group buffer. The last step makes Gnus
13810 notice the new directory.
13813 @subsection Web Searches
13817 @cindex InReference
13818 @cindex Usenet searches
13819 @cindex searching the Usenet
13821 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
13822 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
13823 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
13824 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
13825 searches without having to use a browser.
13827 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
13828 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
13829 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
13830 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
13831 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
13833 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
13834 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
13835 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
13836 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
13837 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
13838 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
13839 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
13840 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
13841 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
13842 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
13845 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
13846 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
13847 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
13848 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
13849 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
13850 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
13852 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
13853 to use @code{nnweb}.
13855 Virtual server variables:
13860 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
13861 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
13865 @vindex nnweb-search
13866 The search string to feed to the search engine.
13868 @item nnweb-max-hits
13869 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
13870 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
13873 @item nnweb-type-definition
13874 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
13875 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
13876 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
13881 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
13885 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
13888 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
13891 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
13895 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
13902 @subsection Slashdot
13906 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
13907 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
13908 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
13910 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
13911 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
13914 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13915 '((nnslashdot "")))
13918 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
13919 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
13920 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
13921 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
13922 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
13925 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
13926 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13928 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
13929 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
13930 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
13931 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
13932 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
13933 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
13936 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
13939 @item nnslashdot-threaded
13940 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
13941 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
13942 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
13943 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
13944 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
13945 but much, much slower than untreaded.
13947 @item nnslashdot-login-name
13948 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
13949 The login name to use when posting.
13951 @item nnslashdot-password
13952 @vindex nnslashdot-password
13953 The password to use when posting.
13955 @item nnslashdot-directory
13956 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
13957 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
13958 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
13960 @item nnslashdot-active-url
13961 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
13962 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
13963 news articles and comments. The default is
13964 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
13966 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
13967 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
13968 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
13970 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
13972 @item nnslashdot-article-url
13973 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
13974 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
13976 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
13978 @item nnslashdot-threshold
13979 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
13980 The score threshold. The default is -1.
13982 @item nnslashdot-group-number
13983 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
13984 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
13985 updated. The default is 0.
13992 @subsection Ultimate
13994 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
13996 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
13997 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
13998 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
13999 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14001 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14002 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14003 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14004 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14005 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14006 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14007 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14009 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14012 @item nnultimate-directory
14013 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14014 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14015 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
14020 @subsection Web Archive
14022 @cindex Web Archive
14024 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
14025 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
14026 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
14027 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14030 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
14031 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
14032 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
14033 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
14034 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
14035 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
14036 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
14038 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
14041 @item nnwarchive-directory
14042 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
14043 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
14044 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
14046 @item nnwarchive-login
14047 @vindex nnwarchive-login
14048 The account name on the web server.
14050 @item nnwarchive-passwd
14051 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
14052 The password for your account on the web server.
14060 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
14061 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
14062 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14065 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
14066 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
14069 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
14072 @item nnrss-directory
14073 @vindex nnrss-directory
14074 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
14075 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
14079 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
14080 the summary buffer.
14083 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
14084 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
14086 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
14088 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
14089 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
14092 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
14095 (require 'browse-url)
14097 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
14099 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
14102 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
14103 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
14105 (browse-url (cdr url))
14106 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
14108 (eval-after-load "gnus"
14109 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
14110 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
14111 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
14114 @node Customizing w3
14115 @subsection Customizing w3
14121 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
14122 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
14123 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
14125 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
14126 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
14127 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
14130 (eval-after-load "w3"
14132 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
14133 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
14134 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
14135 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
14137 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
14140 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
14141 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
14149 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
14150 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
14151 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
14152 specify the network address of the server.
14154 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
14155 POP can, it can hence be viewed as POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
14156 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
14157 protocol. (@sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp} because news
14158 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.)
14160 If you want to use @sc{imap} as POP++, use an imap entry in
14161 mail-sources. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the @sc{imap}
14162 server and store them on the local disk. This is not the usage
14163 described in this section. @xref{Mail Sources}.
14165 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
14166 entry in gnus-secondary-select-methods. With this, Gnus will
14167 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
14168 usage explained in this section.
14170 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
14171 might look something like this:
14174 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14175 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
14176 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
14178 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14179 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
14180 ; a UW server running on localhost
14182 (nnimap-server-port 143)
14183 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14184 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
14185 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
14186 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
14187 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
14188 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
14189 (nnimap-stream network))
14190 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14192 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14193 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
14194 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
14197 (Note that for SSL/TLS to work, you need the external library
14198 @samp{ssl.el}, see below.)
14200 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
14205 @item nnimap-address
14206 @vindex nnimap-address
14208 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
14209 server name if not specified.
14211 @item nnimap-server-port
14212 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14213 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14215 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
14218 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14219 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14222 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14223 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14224 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14225 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14226 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14227 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14228 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14230 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14231 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14232 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14235 Example server specification:
14238 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14239 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14240 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14243 @item nnimap-stream
14244 @vindex nnimap-stream
14245 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
14246 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
14247 of SSL/TLS. (IMAP over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
14248 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
14250 Example server specification:
14253 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14254 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14257 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
14261 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Requires the
14262 @samp{imtest} program.
14264 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
14266 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
14267 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
14270 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
14271 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
14272 library @samp{ssl.el}.
14274 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
14276 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
14279 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
14280 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
14281 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
14282 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
14283 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
14284 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
14285 restrictions on IMAP commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
14286 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
14287 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
14290 @vindex imap-ssl-program
14291 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
14292 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
14293 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
14294 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
14295 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
14296 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
14297 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
14298 distribution, for instance).
14300 @vindex imap-shell-program
14301 @vindex imap-shell-host
14302 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
14303 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
14305 @item nnimap-authenticator
14306 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
14308 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
14309 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
14311 Example server specification:
14314 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14315 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
14318 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
14322 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
14323 external program @code{imtest}.
14325 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
14328 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
14329 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
14331 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
14333 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
14335 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
14338 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
14340 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
14341 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
14342 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
14343 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
14344 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
14345 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
14348 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
14349 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
14350 running in circles yet?
14352 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
14353 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
14356 The possible options are:
14361 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
14364 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
14365 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
14366 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
14367 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
14369 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
14374 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
14375 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
14377 If non-nil, marks dormant articles as ticked (as well), for other IMAP
14378 clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will naturally still (only) be
14379 marked as ticked. This is to make dormant articles stand out, just
14380 like ticked articles, in other IMAP clients. (In other words, Gnus has
14381 two ``Tick'' marks and IMAP has only one.)
14383 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
14384 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
14387 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
14388 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14389 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
14390 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14393 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
14394 as ticked for other users.
14396 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
14398 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
14400 This variable contain the IMAP search command sent to server when
14401 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
14402 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
14403 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
14405 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
14406 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
14407 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
14408 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
14410 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
14411 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
14413 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
14414 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
14415 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
14421 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
14422 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
14423 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
14428 @node Splitting in IMAP
14429 @subsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
14430 @cindex splitting imap mail
14432 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
14433 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
14434 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
14435 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
14436 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
14440 Here are the variables of interest:
14444 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
14445 @cindex splitting, crosspost
14447 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
14449 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
14450 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
14452 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
14454 @item nnimap-split-inbox
14455 @cindex splitting, inbox
14457 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
14459 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
14460 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
14464 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
14465 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
14468 No nnmail equivalent.
14470 @item nnimap-split-rule
14471 @cindex Splitting, rules
14472 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
14474 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
14477 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
14478 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
14479 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
14480 Neither did I, we need examples.
14483 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14485 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
14486 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
14487 ("INBOX.private" "")))
14490 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
14491 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
14492 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
14494 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
14495 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
14499 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
14502 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14503 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
14504 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
14505 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
14507 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
14508 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
14509 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
14510 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
14511 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
14512 them every time you fetch new mail.)
14514 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
14515 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
14516 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
14518 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
14519 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
14520 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14522 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
14524 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
14525 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
14526 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
14529 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14530 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
14531 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
14532 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
14533 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
14534 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
14537 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
14538 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
14539 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
14540 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
14541 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
14542 group/function elements.
14544 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
14546 @item nnimap-split-predicate
14548 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
14550 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
14551 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
14553 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
14554 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
14555 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
14558 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14559 @cindex splitting, fancy
14560 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
14561 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
14563 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14564 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
14565 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14567 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
14568 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14569 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
14570 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14575 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
14576 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
14579 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14583 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
14584 @subsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14585 @cindex editing imap acls
14586 @cindex Access Control Lists
14587 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14589 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
14591 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
14592 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
14593 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
14596 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
14597 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
14598 editing window with detailed instructions.
14600 Some possible uses:
14604 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
14605 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
14606 follow the list without subscribing to it.
14608 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
14609 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
14610 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
14614 @node Expunging mailboxes
14615 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
14619 @cindex Manual expunging
14621 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
14623 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
14624 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
14625 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
14627 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
14632 @node Other Sources
14633 @section Other Sources
14635 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
14636 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
14640 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
14641 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
14642 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
14643 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
14644 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
14648 @node Directory Groups
14649 @subsection Directory Groups
14651 @cindex directory groups
14653 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
14654 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
14657 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
14658 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
14659 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
14660 back end to read directories. Big deal.
14662 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
14663 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
14664 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
14665 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
14666 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
14668 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
14670 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
14671 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
14672 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
14673 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
14676 @node Anything Groups
14677 @subsection Anything Groups
14680 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
14681 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
14682 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
14685 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
14686 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
14687 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
14688 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
14689 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
14690 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
14691 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
14692 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
14693 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
14694 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
14697 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
14698 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
14699 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
14700 in the article buffer, just as usual.
14702 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
14703 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
14704 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
14705 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
14707 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
14708 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
14709 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
14710 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
14711 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
14712 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
14713 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
14714 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
14719 @item nneething-map-file-directory
14720 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
14721 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
14722 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
14724 @item nneething-exclude-files
14725 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
14726 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
14727 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
14729 @item nneething-include-files
14730 @vindex nneething-include-files
14731 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
14732 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
14734 @item nneething-map-file
14735 @vindex nneething-map-file
14736 Name of the map files.
14740 @node Document Groups
14741 @subsection Document Groups
14743 @cindex documentation group
14746 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
14747 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
14754 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
14759 The standard Unix mbox file.
14761 @cindex MMDF mail box
14763 The MMDF mail box format.
14766 Several news articles appended into a file.
14769 @cindex rnews batch files
14770 The rnews batch transport format.
14771 @cindex forwarded messages
14774 Forwarded articles.
14777 Netscape mail boxes.
14780 MIME multipart messages.
14782 @item standard-digest
14783 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
14786 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
14789 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
14790 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
14791 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
14794 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
14795 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
14796 group. And that's it.
14798 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
14799 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
14800 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
14801 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
14802 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
14803 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
14804 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
14805 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
14806 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
14807 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
14809 Virtual server variables:
14812 @item nndoc-article-type
14813 @vindex nndoc-article-type
14814 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
14815 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
14816 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
14817 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail},
14818 @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman} or @code{guess}.
14820 @item nndoc-post-type
14821 @vindex nndoc-post-type
14822 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
14823 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
14828 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
14832 @node Document Server Internals
14833 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
14835 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
14836 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
14837 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
14838 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
14840 First, here's an example document type definition:
14844 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
14845 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
14848 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
14849 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
14850 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
14851 types can be defined with very few settings:
14854 @item first-article
14855 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
14856 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
14859 @item article-begin
14860 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
14861 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
14863 @item head-begin-function
14864 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
14867 @item nndoc-head-begin
14868 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
14871 @item nndoc-head-end
14872 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
14873 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
14875 @item body-begin-function
14876 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
14880 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
14883 @item body-end-function
14884 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
14888 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
14891 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
14892 regexp will be totally ignored.
14896 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
14897 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
14898 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
14899 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
14900 something that's palatable for Gnus:
14903 @item prepare-body-function
14904 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
14905 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
14906 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
14908 @item article-transform-function
14909 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
14910 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
14911 body of the article.
14913 @item generate-head-function
14914 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
14915 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
14916 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
14917 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
14921 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
14926 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
14927 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
14928 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
14929 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
14930 (head-end . "^ ?$")
14931 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
14932 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
14933 (subtype digest guess))
14936 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
14937 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
14938 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
14939 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
14940 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
14942 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
14943 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
14944 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
14945 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
14946 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
14947 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
14948 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
14949 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
14950 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
14951 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
14959 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
14960 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
14961 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
14963 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
14964 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
14965 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
14968 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
14969 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
14970 that interested in doing things properly.
14972 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
14973 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
14976 First some terminology:
14981 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
14982 get news and/or mail from.
14985 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
14986 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
14989 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
14993 @item message packets
14994 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
14995 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
14996 default, where @var{x} is a number.
14998 @item response packets
14999 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
15000 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
15001 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15011 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
15012 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
15013 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
15014 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
15017 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
15020 You put the packet in your home directory.
15023 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
15024 the native or secondary server.
15027 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
15028 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
15031 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
15035 You transfer this packet to the server.
15038 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
15041 You then repeat until you die.
15045 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
15046 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
15049 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
15050 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
15051 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
15055 @node SOUP Commands
15056 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
15058 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
15062 @kindex G s b (Group)
15063 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
15064 Pack all unread articles in the current group
15065 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
15066 process/prefix convention.
15069 @kindex G s w (Group)
15070 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
15071 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
15074 @kindex G s s (Group)
15075 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
15076 Send all replies from the replies packet
15077 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
15080 @kindex G s p (Group)
15081 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
15082 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
15085 @kindex G s r (Group)
15086 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
15087 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
15090 @kindex O s (Summary)
15091 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
15092 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
15093 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
15094 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15099 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
15104 @item gnus-soup-directory
15105 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
15106 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
15107 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
15109 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
15110 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
15111 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
15112 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
15114 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
15115 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
15116 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
15117 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
15119 @item gnus-soup-packer
15120 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
15121 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15122 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
15124 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
15125 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
15126 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15127 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15129 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
15130 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
15131 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
15133 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15134 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15135 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
15136 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
15142 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
15145 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
15146 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
15147 you can read them at leisure.
15149 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
15153 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
15154 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
15155 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
15156 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
15158 @item nnsoup-directory
15159 @vindex nnsoup-directory
15160 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
15161 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
15163 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
15164 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
15165 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
15166 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
15168 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
15169 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
15170 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
15171 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
15172 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
15174 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
15175 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
15176 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
15177 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
15179 @item nnsoup-active-file
15180 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
15181 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
15182 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
15183 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
15184 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
15186 @item nnsoup-packer
15187 @vindex nnsoup-packer
15188 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
15189 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
15191 @item nnsoup-unpacker
15192 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
15193 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
15194 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15196 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
15197 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
15198 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
15201 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
15202 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
15203 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
15206 @item nnsoup-always-save
15207 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
15208 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
15214 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
15216 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
15217 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
15218 more for that to happen.
15220 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
15221 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
15222 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
15225 In specific, this is what it does:
15228 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
15229 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
15232 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
15233 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
15234 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
15237 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
15238 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
15239 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
15242 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
15243 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
15244 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
15246 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
15252 @item nngateway-address
15253 @vindex nngateway-address
15254 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
15256 @item nngateway-header-transformation
15257 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
15258 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
15259 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
15260 transformation should be called, and defaults to
15261 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
15262 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
15265 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
15266 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
15267 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
15270 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
15273 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
15276 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
15279 The following pre-defined functions exist:
15281 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15284 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15285 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15286 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
15288 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15290 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15291 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15292 @code{nngateway-address}.
15297 (setq gnus-post-method
15299 "mail2news@@replay.com"
15300 (nngateway-header-transformation
15301 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
15309 So, to use this, simply say something like:
15312 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
15317 @node Combined Groups
15318 @section Combined Groups
15320 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
15324 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
15325 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
15329 @node Virtual Groups
15330 @subsection Virtual Groups
15332 @cindex virtual groups
15333 @cindex merging groups
15335 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
15338 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
15339 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
15340 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
15342 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
15343 regexp to match component groups.
15345 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
15346 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
15347 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
15348 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
15349 the virtual group.)
15351 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
15352 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
15355 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
15358 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
15359 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
15361 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
15362 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
15363 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
15364 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
15367 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
15370 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
15371 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
15372 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
15374 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
15375 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
15376 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
15377 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
15378 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
15380 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
15381 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
15382 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
15384 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
15385 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
15386 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
15387 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15388 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
15389 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
15390 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
15391 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
15392 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
15393 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
15394 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
15396 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
15397 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
15398 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
15399 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
15400 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
15401 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
15402 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
15404 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
15405 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
15409 @node Kibozed Groups
15410 @subsection Kibozed Groups
15414 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
15415 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
15416 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
15417 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
15419 @kindex G k (Group)
15420 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
15423 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
15424 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
15425 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
15426 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
15428 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
15429 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
15430 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
15432 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
15433 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
15434 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
15435 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
15436 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
15437 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
15438 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
15439 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
15441 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
15442 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
15443 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
15444 Stranger things have happened.
15446 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
15447 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
15449 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
15450 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
15451 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
15452 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
15453 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
15454 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
15456 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
15457 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
15460 @node Gnus Unplugged
15461 @section Gnus Unplugged
15466 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
15468 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
15469 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
15470 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
15471 read news. Believe it or not.
15473 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
15474 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
15475 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
15476 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
15477 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
15479 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
15480 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
15481 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
15482 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
15483 reading news on a machine.
15485 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
15489 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
15490 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
15494 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
15495 @file{.gnus.el} file:
15502 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
15504 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
15507 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
15508 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
15509 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
15510 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
15511 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
15512 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
15513 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
15514 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
15515 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
15516 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
15521 @subsection Agent Basics
15523 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
15525 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
15526 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
15527 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
15528 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
15530 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
15531 connected to the net continuously.
15533 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
15534 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
15536 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
15541 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
15542 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
15543 already fetched while in this mode.
15546 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
15547 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
15548 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
15549 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
15550 Source Specifiers}).
15553 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
15554 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
15555 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
15556 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
15557 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
15560 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
15561 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
15562 then you read the news offline.
15565 And then you go to step 2.
15568 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
15574 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
15575 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
15576 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
15577 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
15578 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
15579 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
15582 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
15589 @node Agent Categories
15590 @subsection Agent Categories
15592 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
15593 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
15594 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
15595 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
15596 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
15597 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
15598 you're interested in the articles anyway.
15600 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
15601 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
15602 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
15603 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
15604 managing categories.
15607 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
15608 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
15609 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
15613 @node Category Syntax
15614 @subsubsection Category Syntax
15616 A category consists of two things.
15620 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
15621 are eligible for downloading; and
15624 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
15625 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
15626 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
15629 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
15630 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
15631 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
15632 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
15634 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
15635 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
15636 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
15638 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
15639 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
15640 operators sprinkled in between.
15642 Perhaps some examples are in order.
15644 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
15645 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
15651 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
15652 short (for some value of ``short'').
15654 Here's a more complex predicate:
15663 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
15664 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
15667 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
15668 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
15669 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
15671 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
15672 you want to do, you can write your own.
15676 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
15677 lines; default 100.
15680 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
15681 lines; default 200.
15684 True iff the article has a download score less than
15685 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
15688 True iff the article has a download score greater than
15689 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
15692 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
15693 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
15694 checksum and sees whether articles match.
15703 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
15704 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
15705 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
15708 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
15709 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
15710 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
15711 something along the lines of the following:
15714 (defun my-article-old-p ()
15715 "Say whether an article is old."
15716 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
15717 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
15720 with the predicate then defined as:
15723 (not my-article-old-p)
15726 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
15727 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
15728 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
15729 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
15732 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
15733 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
15734 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
15737 and simply specify your predicate as:
15743 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
15744 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
15745 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
15746 just don't give a damn.
15748 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
15749 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
15750 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
15751 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
15752 parameters like so:
15755 (agent-predicate . short)
15758 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
15759 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
15760 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
15762 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
15765 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
15768 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
15769 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
15770 predicate is assumed to be a list.
15773 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
15774 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
15775 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
15776 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
15777 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
15778 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
15780 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
15781 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
15782 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
15783 if it's to be specific to that group.
15785 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
15792 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
15793 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
15799 Category specification
15803 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15809 Group Parameter specification
15812 (agent-score ("from"
15813 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15818 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
15824 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
15831 Category specification
15834 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
15840 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
15844 Group Parameter specification
15847 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
15850 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
15855 Use @code{normal} score files
15857 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
15858 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
15859 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
15860 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
15862 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
15863 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
15864 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
15865 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
15869 Category Specification
15876 Group Parameter specification
15879 (agent-score . file)
15884 @node Category Buffer
15885 @subsubsection Category Buffer
15887 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
15888 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
15889 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
15891 The following commands are available in this buffer:
15895 @kindex q (Category)
15896 @findex gnus-category-exit
15897 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
15900 @kindex k (Category)
15901 @findex gnus-category-kill
15902 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
15905 @kindex c (Category)
15906 @findex gnus-category-copy
15907 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
15910 @kindex a (Category)
15911 @findex gnus-category-add
15912 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
15915 @kindex p (Category)
15916 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
15917 Edit the predicate of the current category
15918 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
15921 @kindex g (Category)
15922 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
15923 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
15924 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
15927 @kindex s (Category)
15928 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
15929 Edit the download score rule of the current category
15930 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
15933 @kindex l (Category)
15934 @findex gnus-category-list
15935 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
15939 @node Category Variables
15940 @subsubsection Category Variables
15943 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
15944 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
15945 Hook run in category buffers.
15947 @item gnus-category-line-format
15948 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
15949 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
15950 Variables}). Valid elements are:
15954 The name of the category.
15957 The number of groups in the category.
15960 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
15961 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
15962 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
15964 @item gnus-agent-short-article
15965 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
15966 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
15968 @item gnus-agent-long-article
15969 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
15970 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
15972 @item gnus-agent-low-score
15973 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
15974 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
15977 @item gnus-agent-high-score
15978 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
15979 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
15985 @node Agent Commands
15986 @subsection Agent Commands
15988 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
15989 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
15990 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
15994 * Group Agent Commands::
15995 * Summary Agent Commands::
15996 * Server Agent Commands::
15999 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
16000 following incantation:
16002 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
16004 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
16009 @node Group Agent Commands
16010 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
16014 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
16015 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
16016 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
16017 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
16020 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
16021 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
16022 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
16025 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
16026 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
16027 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
16028 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
16031 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
16032 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
16033 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
16034 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
16037 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
16038 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
16039 Add the current group to an Agent category
16040 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
16041 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16044 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
16045 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
16046 Remove the current group from its category, if any
16047 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
16048 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16051 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
16052 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16053 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
16059 @node Summary Agent Commands
16060 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
16064 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
16065 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
16066 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
16069 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
16070 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
16071 Remove the downloading mark from the article
16072 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
16075 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
16076 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
16077 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
16080 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
16081 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
16082 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
16085 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
16086 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
16087 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
16088 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
16093 @node Server Agent Commands
16094 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
16098 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
16099 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
16100 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
16101 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
16104 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
16105 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
16106 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
16107 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
16113 @subsection Agent Expiry
16115 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
16116 @findex gnus-agent-expire
16117 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
16118 @cindex Agent expiry
16119 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
16122 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
16123 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
16124 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
16125 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
16126 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
16127 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
16129 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
16130 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
16131 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
16132 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
16133 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
16136 @node Agent and IMAP
16137 @subsection Agent and IMAP
16139 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
16140 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
16141 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
16142 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
16144 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
16145 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
16146 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
16147 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
16149 Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
16150 Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
16151 you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these
16152 with the server. This behavior is customizable with
16153 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
16155 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16156 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
16157 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
16158 default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
16159 you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
16160 value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
16162 If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
16163 re-connect, this can be done manually with the
16164 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
16165 in the group buffer by default.
16167 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
16168 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
16173 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
16176 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
16180 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
16181 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
16182 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
16183 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
16184 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
16185 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
16186 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
16187 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
16190 @node Outgoing Messages
16191 @subsection Outgoing Messages
16193 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
16194 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
16195 after posting, and edit them at will.
16197 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
16198 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
16199 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
16200 messages in the draft group.
16204 @node Agent Variables
16205 @subsection Agent Variables
16208 @item gnus-agent-directory
16209 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
16210 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
16211 @file{~/News/agent/}.
16213 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
16214 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
16215 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
16216 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
16217 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
16220 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
16221 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
16222 Hook run when connecting to the network.
16224 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
16225 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
16226 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
16231 @node Example Setup
16232 @subsection Example Setup
16234 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
16235 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
16236 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
16239 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
16240 ;;; from your ISP's server.
16241 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
16243 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
16244 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
16245 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
16247 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
16248 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
16250 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
16254 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
16255 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
16258 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
16259 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
16260 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
16261 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
16262 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
16265 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
16266 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
16267 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
16268 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
16269 back all the killed groups.)
16271 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
16272 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
16273 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
16276 @node Batching Agents
16277 @subsection Batching Agents
16279 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
16280 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
16281 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
16285 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
16289 @node Agent Caveats
16290 @subsection Agent Caveats
16292 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
16293 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
16297 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
16302 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
16303 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
16309 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
16310 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
16317 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
16318 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
16319 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
16322 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
16323 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
16324 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
16325 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
16326 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
16328 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
16329 before generating the summary buffer.
16331 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
16332 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
16333 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
16335 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
16336 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
16337 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
16338 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
16341 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
16342 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
16343 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
16344 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
16345 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
16346 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
16347 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
16348 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
16349 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
16350 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
16351 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
16352 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
16353 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
16354 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
16355 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
16356 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
16357 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
16361 @node Summary Score Commands
16362 @section Summary Score Commands
16363 @cindex score commands
16365 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
16366 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
16367 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
16368 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
16369 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
16371 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
16372 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
16373 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
16374 score file the current one.
16376 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
16381 @kindex V s (Summary)
16382 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
16383 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
16386 @kindex V S (Summary)
16387 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
16388 Display the score of the current article
16389 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
16392 @kindex V t (Summary)
16393 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
16394 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
16395 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
16398 @kindex V R (Summary)
16399 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
16400 Run the current summary through the scoring process
16401 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
16402 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
16403 effect you're having.
16406 @kindex V c (Summary)
16407 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
16408 Make a different score file the current
16409 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
16412 @kindex V e (Summary)
16413 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
16414 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
16415 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
16419 @kindex V f (Summary)
16420 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
16421 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
16422 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
16425 @kindex V F (Summary)
16426 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
16427 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
16428 after editing score files.
16431 @kindex V C (Summary)
16432 @findex gnus-score-customize
16433 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
16434 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
16438 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
16443 @kindex V m (Summary)
16444 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
16445 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
16446 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
16449 @kindex V x (Summary)
16450 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
16451 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
16452 expunge all articles below this score
16453 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
16456 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
16457 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
16460 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
16461 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
16465 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
16466 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
16468 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
16469 keys are available:
16473 Score on the author name.
16476 Score on the subject line.
16479 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
16482 Score on the @code{References} line.
16488 Score on the number of lines.
16491 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
16494 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
16495 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
16496 @file{ADAPT} files.)
16505 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
16511 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
16512 what headers you are scoring on.
16524 Substring matching.
16527 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
16556 Greater than number.
16561 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
16562 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
16563 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
16567 Temporary score entry.
16570 Permanent score entry.
16573 Immediately scoring.
16578 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
16579 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
16580 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
16581 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
16583 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
16584 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
16585 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
16586 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
16587 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
16589 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
16590 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
16591 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
16592 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
16593 current score file.
16595 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
16596 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
16597 pretend they are keymaps or not.
16600 @node Group Score Commands
16601 @section Group Score Commands
16602 @cindex group score commands
16604 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
16609 @kindex W f (Group)
16610 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
16611 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
16612 all the time. This command will flush the cache
16613 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
16617 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
16619 @findex gnus-batch-score
16620 @cindex batch scoring
16622 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
16626 @node Score Variables
16627 @section Score Variables
16628 @cindex score variables
16632 @item gnus-use-scoring
16633 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
16634 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
16635 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
16637 @item gnus-kill-killed
16638 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
16639 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
16640 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
16641 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
16642 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
16643 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
16644 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
16646 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
16647 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
16648 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
16649 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
16650 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
16652 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
16653 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
16654 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
16655 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
16657 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16658 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16659 @cindex score cache
16660 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
16661 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
16662 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
16663 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
16664 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
16665 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
16668 @item gnus-save-score
16669 @vindex gnus-save-score
16670 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
16671 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
16672 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
16674 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
16675 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
16676 across group visits.
16678 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16679 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16680 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
16681 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
16682 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
16683 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
16684 manually entered data.
16686 @item gnus-summary-default-score
16687 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
16688 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
16690 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
16691 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
16692 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
16693 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
16694 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
16695 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
16697 @item gnus-score-over-mark
16698 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
16699 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
16700 default. Default is @samp{+}.
16702 @item gnus-score-below-mark
16703 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
16704 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
16705 default. Default is @samp{-}.
16707 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
16708 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
16709 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
16710 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
16712 Predefined functions available are:
16715 @item gnus-score-find-single
16716 @findex gnus-score-find-single
16717 Only apply the group's own score file.
16719 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
16720 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
16721 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
16722 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
16723 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
16724 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
16725 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
16726 then a regexp match is done.
16728 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
16729 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
16731 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
16732 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
16733 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
16734 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
16736 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16737 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16738 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
16739 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
16740 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
16744 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
16745 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
16746 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
16747 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
16748 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
16749 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
16750 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
16753 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
16754 overall score file, you could use the value
16756 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
16757 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
16760 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
16761 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
16762 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
16763 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
16764 are expired. It's 7 by default.
16766 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16767 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16768 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
16769 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
16770 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
16771 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
16772 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
16775 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16776 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16777 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
16779 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
16780 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
16781 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
16782 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
16783 threading---according to the current value of
16784 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
16785 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
16786 simplified in this manner.
16791 @node Score File Format
16792 @section Score File Format
16793 @cindex score file format
16795 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
16796 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
16797 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
16799 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
16803 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
16805 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
16807 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
16809 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
16814 (mark-and-expunge -10)
16818 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
16819 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
16820 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
16821 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
16825 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
16826 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
16828 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
16829 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
16830 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
16832 Six keys are supported by this alist:
16837 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
16838 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
16839 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
16840 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
16841 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
16842 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
16843 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
16844 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
16845 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
16846 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
16847 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
16848 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
16849 to articles that matches these score entries.
16851 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
16852 score entry has one to four elements.
16856 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
16857 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
16861 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
16862 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
16863 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
16864 is successful. If this element is not present, the
16865 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
16866 instead. This is 1000 by default.
16869 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
16870 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
16871 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
16872 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
16873 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
16876 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
16877 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
16878 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
16879 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
16882 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
16883 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
16884 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
16885 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
16886 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
16887 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
16888 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
16889 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
16890 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
16891 instead, if you feel like.
16894 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
16895 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
16897 These predicates are true if
16900 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
16903 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
16904 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
16911 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
16912 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
16913 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
16914 it's not. I think.)
16916 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
16917 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
16918 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
16919 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
16922 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
16923 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
16924 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
16925 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
16926 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
16927 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
16928 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
16932 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
16933 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
16934 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
16935 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
16936 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
16937 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
16938 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
16939 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
16942 @item Head, Body, All
16943 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
16947 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
16948 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
16949 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
16950 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
16951 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
16952 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
16953 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
16957 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
16958 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
16959 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
16960 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
16961 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
16962 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
16963 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
16964 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
16965 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
16966 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
16967 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
16971 @cindex Score File Atoms
16973 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16974 lower than this number will be marked as read.
16977 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16978 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
16980 @item mark-and-expunge
16981 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16982 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
16985 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
16986 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
16987 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
16988 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
16989 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
16992 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
16993 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
16996 @item exclude-files
16997 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
16998 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
17002 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
17003 ignored when handling global score files.
17006 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
17007 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
17008 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
17009 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
17012 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
17013 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
17014 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
17015 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
17017 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
17021 (mark-and-expunge -100)
17024 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
17025 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
17026 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
17027 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
17028 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
17030 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
17031 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
17032 scoring rules exist.
17035 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
17036 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
17037 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
17038 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
17039 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
17040 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
17041 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17042 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
17043 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
17044 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
17045 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
17049 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
17050 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
17051 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
17052 file for a number of groups.
17055 @cindex local variables
17056 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
17057 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
17058 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
17059 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
17060 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
17064 @node Score File Editing
17065 @section Score File Editing
17067 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
17068 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
17069 with a mode for that.
17071 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
17072 additional commands:
17077 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
17078 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
17079 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
17080 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
17083 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
17084 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
17085 Insert the current date in numerical format
17086 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
17087 you were wondering.
17090 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
17091 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
17092 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
17093 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
17094 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
17099 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
17101 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
17102 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
17104 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
17105 e} to begin editing score files.
17108 @node Adaptive Scoring
17109 @section Adaptive Scoring
17110 @cindex adaptive scoring
17112 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
17113 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
17114 stupidity, to be precise.
17116 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
17117 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
17118 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
17119 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
17120 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17121 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
17122 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
17123 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
17124 variable to @code{(word line)}.
17126 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
17127 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
17128 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
17129 might look something like this:
17132 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
17133 '((gnus-unread-mark)
17134 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
17135 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
17136 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
17137 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
17138 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
17139 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
17140 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
17141 (gnus-ancient-mark)
17142 (gnus-low-score-mark)
17143 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
17146 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
17147 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
17148 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
17149 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
17150 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
17151 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
17154 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
17155 will be applied to each article.
17157 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
17158 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
17159 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
17160 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
17162 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
17163 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
17164 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
17165 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
17167 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
17168 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
17169 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
17170 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
17172 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
17173 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
17174 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
17175 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
17176 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
17177 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
17179 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
17180 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
17181 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
17182 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
17183 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
17184 aspirins afterwards.)
17186 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
17187 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
17188 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
17190 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
17191 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
17192 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
17194 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
17195 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
17196 let you use different rules in different groups.
17198 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
17199 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
17200 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
17203 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
17204 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
17205 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
17206 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
17207 the length of the match is less than
17208 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
17209 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
17212 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
17213 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
17214 headers. If you adapt on words, the
17215 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
17216 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
17219 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
17220 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
17221 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
17222 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
17223 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
17226 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
17227 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
17228 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
17229 score with 30 points.
17231 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
17232 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
17233 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
17234 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
17235 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
17237 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
17238 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
17239 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
17240 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
17241 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
17243 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
17244 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
17245 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
17246 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
17248 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
17249 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
17250 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
17251 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
17253 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
17254 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
17255 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
17256 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
17257 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
17259 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
17260 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
17261 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
17263 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
17264 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
17265 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
17266 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
17269 @node Home Score File
17270 @section Home Score File
17272 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
17273 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
17274 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
17275 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
17277 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
17278 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
17279 could perhaps use the same home score file.
17281 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
17282 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
17287 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
17291 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
17292 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
17296 A list. The elements in this list can be:
17300 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
17301 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
17304 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
17305 the home score file.
17308 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
17311 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
17316 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
17319 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17320 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
17323 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
17324 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
17326 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
17328 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17329 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
17332 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
17333 Other functions include
17336 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
17337 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
17338 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
17339 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
17343 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
17344 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
17345 their own home score files:
17348 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17349 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
17350 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
17351 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
17352 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
17355 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
17356 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
17357 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
17358 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
17359 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
17361 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
17362 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
17363 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
17364 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
17365 precedence over this variable.
17368 @node Followups To Yourself
17369 @section Followups To Yourself
17371 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
17372 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
17373 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
17374 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
17375 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
17376 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
17380 @item gnus-score-followup-article
17381 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
17382 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
17385 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
17386 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
17387 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
17391 @vindex message-sent-hook
17392 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
17393 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
17395 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
17399 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
17400 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
17404 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
17405 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
17408 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
17409 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
17414 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
17418 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
17419 is system-dependent.
17422 @node Scoring On Other Headers
17423 @section Scoring On Other Headers
17424 @cindex scoring on other headers
17426 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
17427 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
17428 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
17429 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
17430 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
17432 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
17433 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
17434 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
17435 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
17436 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
17438 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
17441 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
17442 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
17445 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
17446 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
17447 time if you have much mail.
17449 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
17450 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
17456 @section Scoring Tips
17457 @cindex scoring tips
17463 @cindex scoring crossposts
17464 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
17465 the @code{Xref} header.
17467 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
17470 @item Multiple crossposts
17471 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
17472 more than, say, 3 groups:
17475 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
17479 @item Matching on the body
17480 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
17481 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
17482 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
17483 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
17484 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
17485 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
17486 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
17489 @item Marking as read
17490 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
17491 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
17492 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
17496 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
17498 @item Negated character classes
17499 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
17500 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
17501 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
17505 @node Reverse Scoring
17506 @section Reverse Scoring
17507 @cindex reverse scoring
17509 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
17510 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
17511 like this in your score file:
17515 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
17520 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
17521 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
17524 @node Global Score Files
17525 @section Global Score Files
17526 @cindex global score files
17528 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
17529 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
17530 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
17532 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
17533 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
17534 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
17536 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
17537 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
17538 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
17539 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
17540 files are applicable to which group.
17542 To use the score file
17543 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
17544 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
17548 (setq gnus-global-score-files
17549 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
17550 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
17553 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
17555 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
17556 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
17557 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
17558 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
17560 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
17561 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
17563 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
17564 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
17565 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
17566 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
17567 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
17568 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
17570 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
17576 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
17578 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
17580 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
17582 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
17583 lowered out of existence.
17585 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
17586 articles completely.
17589 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
17590 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
17591 old articles for a long time.
17594 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
17595 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
17596 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
17597 holding our breath yet?
17601 @section Kill Files
17604 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
17605 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
17606 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
17608 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
17609 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
17610 files into score files.
17612 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
17613 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
17614 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
17615 that isn't a very good idea.
17617 Normal kill files look like this:
17620 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17621 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
17625 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
17626 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
17628 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
17629 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
17632 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
17637 @kindex M-k (Summary)
17638 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
17639 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
17642 @kindex M-K (Summary)
17643 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
17644 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
17647 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
17652 @kindex M-k (Group)
17653 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
17654 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
17657 @kindex M-K (Group)
17658 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
17659 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
17662 Kill file variables:
17665 @item gnus-kill-file-name
17666 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
17667 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
17668 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
17669 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
17670 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
17671 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
17673 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17674 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17675 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
17676 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
17679 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
17680 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
17681 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
17682 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
17683 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
17684 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
17685 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
17686 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
17687 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
17689 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
17690 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
17691 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
17696 @node Converting Kill Files
17697 @section Converting Kill Files
17699 @cindex converting kill files
17701 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
17702 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
17703 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
17706 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
17707 You can fetch it from
17708 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
17710 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
17711 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
17712 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
17720 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
17721 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
17722 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
17723 news articles generated every day.
17725 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
17726 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
17727 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
17728 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
17729 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
17730 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
17731 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
17732 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
17735 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
17736 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
17739 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
17740 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
17741 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
17742 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
17746 @node Using GroupLens
17747 @subsection Using GroupLens
17749 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
17751 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
17752 better bit in town at the moment.
17754 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
17758 @item gnus-use-grouplens
17759 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
17760 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
17761 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
17763 @item grouplens-pseudonym
17764 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
17765 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
17766 with the Better Bit Bureau.
17768 @item grouplens-newsgroups
17769 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
17770 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
17774 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
17775 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
17776 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
17777 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
17778 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
17779 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
17782 @node Rating Articles
17783 @subsection Rating Articles
17785 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
17786 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
17787 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
17788 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
17791 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
17796 @kindex r (GroupLens)
17797 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
17798 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
17801 @kindex k (GroupLens)
17802 @findex grouplens-score-thread
17803 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
17804 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
17805 threads in rec.humor.
17809 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
17810 the score of the article you're reading.
17815 @kindex n (GroupLens)
17816 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
17817 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
17820 @kindex , (GroupLens)
17821 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
17822 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
17826 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
17827 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
17830 @node Displaying Predictions
17831 @subsection Displaying Predictions
17833 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
17834 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
17835 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
17836 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
17837 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
17839 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
17840 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
17841 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
17842 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
17843 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
17844 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
17845 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
17846 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
17847 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
17848 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
17849 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
17850 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
17851 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
17853 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
17854 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
17855 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
17856 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
17858 The following are valid values for that variable.
17861 @item prediction-spot
17862 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
17865 @item confidence-interval
17866 A numeric confidence interval.
17868 @item prediction-bar
17869 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
17871 @item confidence-bar
17872 Numerical confidence.
17874 @item confidence-spot
17875 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
17877 @item prediction-num
17878 Plain-old numeric value.
17880 @item confidence-plus-minus
17881 Prediction +/- confidence.
17886 @node GroupLens Variables
17887 @subsection GroupLens Variables
17891 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
17892 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
17893 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
17894 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
17897 @item grouplens-bbb-host
17898 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
17901 @item grouplens-bbb-port
17902 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
17904 @item grouplens-score-offset
17905 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
17906 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
17909 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
17910 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
17911 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
17916 @node Advanced Scoring
17917 @section Advanced Scoring
17919 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
17920 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
17921 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
17922 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
17923 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
17925 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
17929 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
17930 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
17931 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
17935 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
17936 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
17938 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
17939 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
17940 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
17941 non-@code{nil} value.
17943 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
17944 operator, and various match operators.
17951 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
17952 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
17953 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
17958 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
17959 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
17960 then this operator will return @code{false}.
17965 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
17966 logical negation of the value of its argument.
17970 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
17971 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
17972 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
17973 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
17974 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
17975 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
17976 the ancestry you want to go.
17978 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
17979 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
17980 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
17981 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
17982 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
17985 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
17986 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
17988 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
17989 when he's talking about Gnus:
17993 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17994 ("subject" "Gnus"))
18000 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
18004 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18011 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
18012 really don't want to read what he's written:
18016 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18017 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
18021 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
18022 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
18023 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
18030 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
18031 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
18032 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
18033 ("body" "white.*socks"))
18037 The possibilities are endless.
18040 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
18041 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
18043 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
18044 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
18045 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
18046 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
18047 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
18048 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
18049 @samp{subject}) first.
18051 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
18052 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
18063 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
18064 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
18070 ("subject" "Gnus")))
18077 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
18078 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
18083 @section Score Decays
18084 @cindex score decays
18087 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
18088 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
18089 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
18090 use them in any sensible way.
18092 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
18093 @findex gnus-decay-score
18094 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
18095 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
18096 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
18097 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
18098 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
18099 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
18100 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
18101 definition of that function:
18104 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
18106 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
18107 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
18110 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
18112 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
18114 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
18117 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
18118 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
18119 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
18120 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
18124 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
18127 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
18130 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
18134 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
18135 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
18136 the new score, which should be an integer.
18138 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
18139 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
18144 @include message.texi
18145 @chapter Emacs MIME
18146 @include emacs-mime.texi
18148 @include sieve.texi
18156 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
18157 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
18158 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
18159 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
18160 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
18161 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
18162 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
18163 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
18164 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
18165 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
18166 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
18167 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
18168 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
18169 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
18170 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
18171 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
18172 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
18173 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
18177 @node Process/Prefix
18178 @section Process/Prefix
18179 @cindex process/prefix convention
18181 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
18182 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
18184 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
18185 command to be performed on.
18189 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
18190 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
18191 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
18192 with the current one.
18194 @vindex transient-mark-mode
18195 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
18196 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
18198 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
18199 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
18202 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
18203 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
18205 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
18208 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
18209 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
18210 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
18211 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
18213 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
18214 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
18215 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
18216 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
18217 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
18218 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
18219 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
18220 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
18222 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
18223 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
18224 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
18225 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
18226 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
18230 @section Interactive
18231 @cindex interaction
18235 @item gnus-novice-user
18236 @vindex gnus-novice-user
18237 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
18238 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
18239 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
18240 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
18243 @item gnus-expert-user
18244 @vindex gnus-expert-user
18245 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
18246 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
18247 matter how strange.
18249 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
18250 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
18251 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
18252 is @code{t} by default.
18254 @item gnus-interactive-exit
18255 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
18256 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18261 @node Symbolic Prefixes
18262 @section Symbolic Prefixes
18263 @cindex symbolic prefixes
18265 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
18266 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
18267 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
18268 rule of 900 to the current article.
18270 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
18271 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
18272 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
18273 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
18274 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
18275 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
18276 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
18278 @kindex M-i (Summary)
18279 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
18280 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
18281 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
18282 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
18283 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
18284 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
18285 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
18286 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
18288 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
18289 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
18290 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
18292 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
18296 @node Formatting Variables
18297 @section Formatting Variables
18298 @cindex formatting variables
18300 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
18301 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
18302 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
18303 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
18304 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
18307 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
18308 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
18309 lots of percentages everywhere.
18312 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
18313 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
18314 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
18315 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
18316 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
18317 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
18318 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
18319 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
18322 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
18323 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
18324 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
18325 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
18326 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
18327 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
18328 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
18329 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
18331 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
18332 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
18334 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
18335 @findex gnus-update-format
18336 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
18337 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
18338 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
18339 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
18343 @node Formatting Basics
18344 @subsection Formatting Basics
18346 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
18347 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
18348 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
18350 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
18351 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
18352 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
18353 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
18354 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
18357 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
18358 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
18359 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
18360 less than 4 characters wide.
18362 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
18363 @samp{%&user-date;}.
18365 @node Mode Line Formatting
18366 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
18368 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
18369 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
18370 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
18371 with the following two differences:
18376 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
18379 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
18380 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
18381 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
18382 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
18383 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
18384 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
18385 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
18390 @node Advanced Formatting
18391 @subsection Advanced Formatting
18393 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
18394 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
18395 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
18396 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
18398 These are the valid modifiers:
18403 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
18407 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
18412 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
18415 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
18420 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
18423 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
18426 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
18429 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
18433 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
18434 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
18435 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
18436 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
18437 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
18438 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
18439 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
18441 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
18442 last operation, padding.
18444 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
18445 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
18446 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
18447 @xref{Compilation}.
18450 @node User-Defined Specs
18451 @subsection User-Defined Specs
18453 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
18454 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
18455 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
18456 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
18457 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
18458 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
18459 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
18460 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
18461 should protect against that.
18463 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
18464 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
18466 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
18467 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
18468 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
18469 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
18473 @node Formatting Fonts
18474 @subsection Formatting Fonts
18476 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
18477 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
18478 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
18479 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
18482 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
18483 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
18484 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
18485 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
18486 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
18487 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
18489 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
18490 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
18491 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
18492 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
18493 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
18494 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
18495 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
18496 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
18498 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
18501 ;; Create three face types.
18502 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
18503 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
18505 ;; We want the article count to be in
18506 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
18507 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
18508 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
18510 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
18511 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
18513 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
18514 (setq gnus-group-line-format
18515 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
18518 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
18519 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
18521 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
18522 mode-line variables.
18524 @node Positioning Point
18525 @subsection Positioning Point
18527 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
18528 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
18529 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
18531 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
18533 @findex gnus-goto-colon
18534 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
18535 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
18537 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
18538 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
18539 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
18544 @subsection Tabulation
18546 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
18547 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
18548 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
18549 about lining up the following text afterwards.
18551 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
18552 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
18554 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18555 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
18556 This is the soft tabulator.
18558 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18559 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
18560 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
18563 @node Wide Characters
18564 @subsection Wide Characters
18566 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
18567 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
18568 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
18570 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
18571 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
18572 these coutries, that's not true.
18574 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
18575 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
18576 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
18577 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
18581 @node Window Layout
18582 @section Window Layout
18583 @cindex window layout
18585 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
18587 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
18588 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
18589 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
18590 @code{t} by default.
18592 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
18593 glitches. Use at your own peril.
18595 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
18596 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
18597 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
18600 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
18601 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
18602 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18606 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
18607 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
18608 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
18609 possible names is listed below.
18611 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
18612 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
18615 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18619 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
18620 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
18621 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
18622 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
18623 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
18624 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
18625 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
18626 size spec per split.
18628 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
18629 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
18630 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
18631 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
18632 present) gets focus.
18634 Here's a more complicated example:
18637 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
18638 (summary 0.25 point)
18639 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
18643 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
18644 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
18645 occupy, not a percentage.
18647 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
18648 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
18649 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
18650 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
18651 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
18654 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
18657 (article (horizontal 1.0
18662 (summary 0.25 point)
18667 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
18668 @code{horizontal} thingie?
18670 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
18671 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
18672 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
18673 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
18674 the screen is to be given to this strip.
18676 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
18677 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
18678 lines from the splits.
18680 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
18684 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
18685 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
18686 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
18687 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
18688 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
18689 size = number | frame-params
18690 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
18693 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
18694 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
18695 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
18696 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
18698 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
18699 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
18700 @cindex window height
18701 @cindex window width
18702 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
18703 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
18704 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
18705 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
18706 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
18707 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
18709 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
18710 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
18711 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
18712 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
18714 @findex gnus-configure-frame
18715 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
18716 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
18717 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
18718 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
18719 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
18720 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
18721 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
18722 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
18723 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
18724 configuration list.
18727 (gnus-configure-frame
18731 (article 0.3 point))
18739 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
18740 @code{frame} split:
18743 (gnus-configure-frame
18746 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
18748 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
18749 (user-position . t)
18750 (left . -1) (top . 1))
18755 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
18756 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
18757 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
18758 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
18759 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
18760 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
18761 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
18762 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
18764 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
18765 be found in its default value.
18767 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
18768 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
18769 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
18773 (message (horizontal 1.0
18774 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
18776 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
18781 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
18782 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
18783 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
18788 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
18789 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
18790 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
18791 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
18792 (name . "Message"))
18793 (message 1.0 point))))
18796 @findex gnus-add-configuration
18797 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
18798 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
18799 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
18800 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
18803 (gnus-add-configuration
18804 '(article (vertical 1.0
18806 (summary .25 point)
18810 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
18811 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
18812 Gnus has been loaded.
18814 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
18815 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
18816 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
18817 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
18818 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
18820 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
18821 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
18822 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
18825 @subsection Example Window Configurations
18829 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
18830 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
18845 (gnus-add-configuration
18848 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18850 (summary 0.16 point)
18853 (gnus-add-configuration
18856 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18857 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
18863 @node Faces and Fonts
18864 @section Faces and Fonts
18869 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
18870 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
18871 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
18876 @section Compilation
18877 @cindex compilation
18878 @cindex byte-compilation
18880 @findex gnus-compile
18882 Remember all those line format specification variables?
18883 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
18884 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
18885 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
18886 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
18887 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
18890 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
18891 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
18892 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
18893 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
18894 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
18895 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
18896 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
18900 @section Mode Lines
18903 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
18904 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
18905 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
18906 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
18907 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
18908 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
18909 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
18912 @cindex display-time
18914 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
18915 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
18916 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
18917 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
18918 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
18919 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
18920 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
18921 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
18924 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
18926 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
18927 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
18929 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
18930 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
18931 (length display-time-string)))))
18934 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
18935 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
18936 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
18937 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
18938 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
18941 @node Highlighting and Menus
18942 @section Highlighting and Menus
18944 @cindex highlighting
18947 @vindex gnus-visual
18948 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
18949 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
18950 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
18953 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
18954 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
18957 @item group-highlight
18958 Do highlights in the group buffer.
18959 @item summary-highlight
18960 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
18961 @item article-highlight
18962 Do highlights in the article buffer.
18964 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
18966 Create menus in the group buffer.
18968 Create menus in the summary buffers.
18970 Create menus in the article buffer.
18972 Create menus in the browse buffer.
18974 Create menus in the server buffer.
18976 Create menus in the score buffers.
18978 Create menus in all buffers.
18981 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
18982 buffers, you could say something like:
18985 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
18988 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
18991 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
18994 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
18995 in all Gnus buffers.
18997 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
19000 @item gnus-mouse-face
19001 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
19002 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
19003 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
19007 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
19011 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
19012 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
19013 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
19015 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
19016 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
19017 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
19019 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
19020 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
19021 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
19023 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
19024 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
19025 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
19027 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
19028 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
19029 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
19031 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
19032 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
19033 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
19044 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
19045 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
19046 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
19047 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
19048 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
19052 @vindex gnus-carpal
19053 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
19054 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
19055 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
19060 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19061 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19062 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
19064 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
19065 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
19066 Face used on buttons.
19068 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
19069 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
19070 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
19072 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
19073 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
19074 Buttons in the group buffer.
19076 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
19077 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
19078 Buttons in the summary buffer.
19080 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
19081 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
19082 Buttons in the server buffer.
19084 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
19085 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
19086 Buttons in the browse buffer.
19089 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
19090 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
19091 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
19099 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
19100 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
19101 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
19102 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
19103 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
19105 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
19106 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
19107 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
19109 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
19110 been idle for thirty minutes:
19113 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
19116 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
19120 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
19123 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
19124 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
19125 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
19127 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
19128 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
19129 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
19130 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
19132 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
19133 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
19134 @var{idle} minutes.
19136 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
19137 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
19140 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
19141 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
19142 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
19144 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
19145 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
19146 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
19147 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
19149 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
19150 your @file{.gnus} file:
19152 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
19154 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
19157 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
19158 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
19159 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
19160 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
19161 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
19162 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
19163 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
19164 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
19165 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
19166 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
19167 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
19169 @findex gnus-demon-init
19170 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
19171 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
19172 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
19173 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
19174 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
19176 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
19177 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
19178 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
19187 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
19188 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
19190 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
19191 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
19192 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
19193 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
19196 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
19197 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
19198 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
19199 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
19201 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
19202 this will make spam disappear.
19204 There are some variables to customize, of course:
19207 @item gnus-use-nocem
19208 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
19209 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
19212 @item gnus-nocem-groups
19213 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
19214 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
19215 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
19216 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
19218 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
19219 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
19220 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
19221 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
19222 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
19223 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
19225 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
19226 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
19228 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
19229 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
19230 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
19231 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
19232 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
19233 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
19234 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
19235 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
19236 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
19237 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
19239 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
19240 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
19243 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
19246 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
19247 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
19250 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
19253 The specs are applied left-to-right.
19256 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
19257 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
19259 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
19260 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
19261 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
19262 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
19264 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
19265 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
19268 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
19270 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
19278 This might be dangerous, though.
19280 @item gnus-nocem-directory
19281 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
19282 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
19283 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
19285 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19286 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19287 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
19288 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
19289 might then see old spam.
19291 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
19292 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
19293 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
19294 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
19295 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
19298 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19299 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19300 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
19301 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
19305 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
19306 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
19307 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
19308 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
19315 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
19316 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
19317 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
19319 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
19320 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
19321 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
19322 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
19323 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
19324 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
19325 @code{undo} function.
19327 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
19328 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
19329 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
19330 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
19331 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
19332 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
19333 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
19334 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
19335 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
19336 never be totally undoable.
19338 @findex gnus-undo-mode
19339 @vindex gnus-use-undo
19341 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
19342 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
19343 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
19344 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
19349 @section Moderation
19352 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
19353 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
19354 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
19357 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
19361 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
19364 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
19366 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
19371 You split your incoming mail by matching on
19372 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
19373 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
19376 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
19377 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
19380 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
19381 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
19385 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
19388 (setq gnus-moderated-list
19389 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
19393 @node XEmacs Enhancements
19394 @section XEmacs Enhancements
19397 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
19401 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
19402 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
19403 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
19404 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
19417 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
19418 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
19419 over your shoulder as you read news.
19422 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
19423 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
19424 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
19425 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
19426 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
19431 @subsubsection Picon Basics
19433 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
19442 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
19443 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
19444 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
19445 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
19446 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
19447 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
19448 @code{GIF} formats.
19451 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19452 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
19453 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
19454 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
19455 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
19457 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19458 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
19459 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
19460 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
19461 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
19462 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19465 @node Picon Requirements
19466 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
19468 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
19469 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
19470 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
19471 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
19473 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19474 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
19475 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
19476 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
19477 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
19478 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
19481 @subsubsection Easy Picons
19483 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
19484 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
19487 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
19488 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
19491 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
19492 containing the Picons databases.
19494 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
19497 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19498 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
19503 @subsubsection Hard Picons
19511 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
19512 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
19513 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
19514 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
19515 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
19520 @item gnus-picons-database
19521 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19522 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
19523 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
19524 subdirectories. This is only useful if
19525 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
19526 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
19528 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19529 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19530 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
19531 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
19532 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
19533 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
19534 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19536 @item gnus-picons-display-where
19537 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19538 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
19539 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
19540 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
19541 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
19542 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
19543 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
19545 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19546 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19547 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
19552 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
19553 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
19555 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
19556 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
19559 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19561 @item gnus-article-display-picons
19562 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
19563 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
19564 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
19566 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
19567 @findex gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
19568 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
19569 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the function name, not @code{xface})
19575 @node Picon Useless Configuration
19576 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
19584 The following variables offer further control over how things are
19585 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
19586 don't need to worry about.
19590 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
19591 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
19592 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19593 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
19595 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
19596 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
19597 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
19598 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
19600 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
19601 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
19602 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19603 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
19604 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
19606 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19607 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19608 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
19609 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
19610 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
19611 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
19612 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
19613 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
19615 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19616 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19617 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
19618 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
19619 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
19621 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19622 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19623 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
19624 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
19625 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
19626 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
19627 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
19629 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19630 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19631 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
19632 Defaults to @code{nil}.
19634 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
19635 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
19636 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
19637 Defaults to @code{t}.
19639 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
19640 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
19641 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
19642 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
19644 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
19645 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
19646 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
19648 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
19649 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
19650 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
19651 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
19653 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
19654 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
19656 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
19657 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
19658 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
19659 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
19660 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
19661 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
19662 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
19663 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
19674 @subsection Smileys
19679 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
19684 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
19685 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
19687 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
19688 @file{.gnus.el} file:
19691 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
19694 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
19695 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
19696 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
19697 text and maps that to file names.
19699 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
19700 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
19701 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
19702 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
19703 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
19704 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
19706 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
19707 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
19709 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
19710 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
19711 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
19713 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
19714 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
19718 @item smiley-data-directory
19719 @vindex smiley-data-directory
19720 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
19722 @item smiley-flesh-color
19723 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
19724 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
19726 @item smiley-features-color
19727 @vindex smiley-features-color
19728 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
19730 @item smiley-tongue-color
19731 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
19732 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
19734 @item smiley-circle-color
19735 @vindex smiley-circle-color
19736 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
19738 @item smiley-mouse-face
19739 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
19740 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
19746 @subsection Toolbar
19756 @item gnus-use-toolbar
19757 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
19758 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
19759 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
19760 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
19762 @item gnus-group-toolbar
19763 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
19764 The toolbar in the group buffer.
19766 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
19767 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
19768 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
19770 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
19771 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
19772 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
19778 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
19781 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
19782 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
19783 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
19784 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
19785 unusual directory structure.
19787 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
19788 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
19789 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
19790 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
19792 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
19793 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
19794 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
19795 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
19796 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
19797 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
19799 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
19800 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
19801 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
19815 @node Fuzzy Matching
19816 @section Fuzzy Matching
19817 @cindex fuzzy matching
19819 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
19820 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
19822 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
19823 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
19824 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
19826 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
19827 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
19828 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
19829 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
19830 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
19833 @node Thwarting Email Spam
19834 @section Thwarting Email Spam
19838 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
19840 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
19841 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
19842 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
19843 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
19844 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
19845 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
19846 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
19847 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
19850 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
19851 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
19852 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
19853 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
19854 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
19855 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
19859 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
19860 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
19862 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
19863 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
19864 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
19865 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
19866 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
19867 part of the mail address.)
19870 (setq message-default-news-headers
19871 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
19874 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
19875 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
19880 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
19881 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
19882 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
19888 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
19889 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
19890 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
19891 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
19893 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
19894 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
19895 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
19896 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
19897 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
19898 your fancy split rule in this way:
19903 (to "larsi" "misc")
19907 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
19908 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
19909 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
19910 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
19911 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
19913 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
19914 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
19915 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
19916 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
19917 cosmic balance somewhat.
19919 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
19920 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
19921 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
19922 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
19925 @node Various Various
19926 @section Various Various
19932 @item gnus-home-directory
19933 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
19934 defaults to @file{~/}.
19936 @item gnus-directory
19937 @vindex gnus-directory
19938 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
19939 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
19940 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
19942 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
19943 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
19944 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
19945 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
19947 @item gnus-default-directory
19948 @vindex gnus-default-directory
19949 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
19950 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
19951 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
19952 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
19953 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
19954 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
19957 @vindex gnus-verbose
19958 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
19959 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
19960 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
19961 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
19962 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
19964 @item gnus-verbose-backends
19965 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
19966 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
19967 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
19969 @item nnheader-max-head-length
19970 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
19971 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
19972 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
19973 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
19974 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
19975 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
19976 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
19977 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
19978 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
19980 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
19981 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
19982 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
19983 read when doing the operation described above.
19985 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19986 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19988 @cindex invalid characters in file names
19989 @cindex characters in file names
19990 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
19991 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
19992 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
19995 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19999 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
20000 Windows (phooey) systems.
20002 @item gnus-hidden-properties
20003 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
20004 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
20005 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
20006 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
20008 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
20009 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
20010 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
20011 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
20012 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
20014 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
20015 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
20016 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
20018 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
20019 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
20021 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
20022 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
20023 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
20024 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
20027 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
20035 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
20036 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
20038 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
20040 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
20046 Not because of victories @*
20049 but for the common sunshine,@*
20051 the largess of the spring.
20055 but for the day's work done@*
20056 as well as I was able;@*
20057 not for a seat upon the dais@*
20058 but at the common table.@*
20063 @chapter Appendices
20066 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
20067 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
20068 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
20069 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
20070 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
20071 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
20072 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
20073 * Frequently Asked Questions::
20081 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
20082 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
20084 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
20085 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
20086 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
20087 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
20088 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
20090 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
20091 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
20092 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
20093 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
20094 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
20095 appropriate name, don't you think?)
20097 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
20098 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
20099 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
20100 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
20103 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
20104 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
20105 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
20106 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
20107 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
20108 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
20109 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
20110 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
20111 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
20115 @node Gnus Versions
20116 @subsection Gnus Versions
20117 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
20119 @cindex September Gnus
20120 @cindex Quassia Gnus
20122 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
20123 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
20124 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
20126 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
20127 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
20129 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
20130 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
20132 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
20133 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
20135 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
20136 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
20139 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
20141 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
20142 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
20143 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
20144 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
20145 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
20146 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
20149 @node Other Gnus Versions
20150 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
20153 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
20154 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
20155 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
20156 @sc{mime} capabilities.
20158 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
20159 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
20160 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
20161 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
20168 What's the point of Gnus?
20170 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
20171 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
20172 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
20173 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
20174 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
20175 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
20176 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
20177 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
20178 keep track of millions of people who post?
20180 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
20181 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
20182 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
20183 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
20184 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
20185 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
20186 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
20187 every one of you to explore and invent.
20189 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
20190 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
20193 @node Compatibility
20194 @subsection Compatibility
20196 @cindex compatibility
20197 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
20198 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
20199 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
20204 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
20208 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
20211 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
20214 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
20215 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
20216 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
20217 important variables have their values copied into their global
20218 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
20219 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
20221 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
20222 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
20223 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
20224 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
20225 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
20229 @cindex highlighting
20230 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
20231 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
20232 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
20233 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
20234 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
20235 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
20238 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
20239 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
20240 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
20241 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
20243 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
20244 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
20245 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
20246 to stop doing it the old way.
20248 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
20250 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
20252 @cindex reporting bugs
20254 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
20255 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
20256 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
20258 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
20259 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
20260 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
20261 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
20266 @subsection Conformity
20268 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
20269 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
20276 There are no known breaches of this standard.
20280 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
20282 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
20283 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
20284 We do have some breaches to this one.
20290 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
20291 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
20292 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
20293 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
20294 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
20299 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
20300 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
20301 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
20302 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
20306 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
20307 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
20312 @subsection Emacsen
20318 Gnus should work on :
20326 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
20330 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
20331 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
20334 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
20335 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
20336 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
20340 @node Gnus Development
20341 @subsection Gnus Development
20343 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
20344 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
20345 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
20346 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
20347 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
20348 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
20349 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
20350 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
20352 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
20353 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
20354 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
20355 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
20356 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
20359 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
20360 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
20361 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
20362 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
20363 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
20365 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
20366 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
20367 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
20368 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
20369 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
20370 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
20371 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
20372 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
20373 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
20374 can't be assumed to do so.
20379 @subsection Contributors
20380 @cindex contributors
20382 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
20383 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
20384 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
20385 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
20386 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
20387 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
20388 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
20389 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
20390 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
20391 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
20393 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
20399 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
20402 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
20403 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
20404 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
20405 functionality and stuff.
20408 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
20409 well as numerous other things).
20412 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
20415 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
20418 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
20421 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
20424 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
20425 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
20428 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
20431 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
20432 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
20435 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
20438 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
20441 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
20444 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
20447 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
20448 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
20451 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
20454 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
20457 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
20460 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
20464 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
20467 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
20470 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
20473 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
20474 well as autoconf support.
20478 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
20479 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
20481 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
20490 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
20494 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
20504 Alexei V. Barantsev,
20519 Massimo Campostrini,
20524 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
20525 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
20529 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
20532 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
20538 Michael Welsh Duggan,
20543 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
20547 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
20555 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
20557 Michelangelo Grigni,
20561 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
20563 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
20565 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
20572 François Felix Ingrand,
20573 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
20574 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
20576 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
20587 Peter Skov Knudsen,
20588 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
20590 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
20591 Thor Kristoffersen,
20594 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
20612 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
20613 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
20620 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
20625 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
20629 John McClary Prevost,
20635 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
20640 Christian von Roques,
20643 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
20650 Philippe Schnoebelen,
20652 Randal L. Schwartz,
20666 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
20671 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
20687 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
20692 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
20693 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
20694 (550kB and counting).
20696 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
20699 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
20700 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
20704 @subsection New Features
20705 @cindex new features
20708 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
20709 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
20710 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
20711 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
20712 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
20715 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
20716 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
20717 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
20720 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
20722 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
20727 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
20728 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
20731 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
20732 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
20735 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
20738 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
20739 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
20740 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
20743 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
20744 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
20745 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
20746 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
20749 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
20750 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20753 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
20754 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
20755 (@pxref{The Active File}).
20758 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
20759 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
20762 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
20763 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
20764 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
20767 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
20768 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
20769 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
20772 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
20773 the @file{.emacs} file.
20776 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
20777 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
20780 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
20781 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
20784 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
20785 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20788 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
20789 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
20792 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
20793 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
20796 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
20799 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
20800 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
20803 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
20804 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
20807 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
20808 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
20811 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
20814 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
20815 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
20818 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
20822 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
20826 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
20827 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
20830 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
20836 @node September Gnus
20837 @subsubsection September Gnus
20841 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
20845 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
20850 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
20851 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
20855 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
20856 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
20860 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
20864 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
20865 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
20868 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
20872 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
20875 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
20878 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
20881 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
20885 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
20886 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
20889 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
20893 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
20897 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
20901 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
20905 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
20908 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
20909 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
20912 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
20916 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
20917 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
20920 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
20923 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
20924 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
20925 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
20928 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
20932 The Gnus cache is much faster.
20935 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
20939 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
20940 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
20943 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
20944 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
20947 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
20948 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20951 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
20952 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
20953 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
20956 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
20957 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
20960 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
20963 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
20966 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
20969 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
20972 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
20973 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
20976 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
20980 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
20983 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
20988 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
20991 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
20995 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20998 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
21002 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
21005 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
21008 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
21009 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
21012 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
21013 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
21017 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
21018 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
21021 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
21025 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
21026 buffer to allow easier treatment.
21029 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
21032 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
21036 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
21040 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
21041 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
21044 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
21048 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
21049 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
21052 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
21053 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
21056 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
21060 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
21063 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
21066 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
21072 @subsubsection Red Gnus
21074 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
21078 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
21085 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
21088 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
21089 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
21092 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
21093 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
21097 Article washing status can be displayed in the
21098 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
21101 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
21104 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
21105 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
21108 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
21112 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
21113 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
21117 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
21118 Server Internals}).
21121 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
21125 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
21128 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
21129 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
21132 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
21133 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
21134 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
21137 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
21138 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
21141 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
21142 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
21145 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
21149 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
21150 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
21153 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
21154 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
21157 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
21161 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
21164 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
21168 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
21169 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
21172 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
21173 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
21176 A new command for reading collections of documents
21177 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
21178 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
21181 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
21185 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
21186 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
21189 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
21190 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
21191 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
21194 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
21195 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
21199 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
21203 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
21207 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
21212 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
21216 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
21220 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
21221 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
21224 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
21230 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
21232 New features in Gnus 5.6:
21237 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
21238 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
21239 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
21242 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
21243 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
21244 group, which is created automatically.
21247 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
21251 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
21254 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
21255 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
21258 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
21262 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
21265 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
21266 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
21269 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
21272 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
21273 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
21276 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
21277 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
21280 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
21281 control over simplification.
21284 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
21287 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
21291 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
21294 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
21297 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
21298 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
21299 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
21302 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
21303 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
21306 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
21310 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
21311 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
21314 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
21315 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
21318 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
21322 A history of where mails have been split is available.
21325 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
21328 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
21329 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
21332 A new function for citing in Message has been
21333 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
21336 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
21339 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
21343 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
21344 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
21347 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
21348 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
21351 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
21354 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
21358 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
21359 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
21361 New features in Gnus 5.8:
21366 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
21367 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
21369 If you used procmail like in
21372 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
21373 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
21374 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
21375 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
21378 this now has changed to
21382 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
21386 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
21387 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
21390 Gnus is now a MIME-capable reader. This affects many parts of
21391 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
21394 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
21395 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
21398 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
21399 called to position point.
21402 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
21403 summary buffers and NOV files.
21406 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
21407 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
21410 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
21411 subtly different manner.
21414 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
21415 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
21416 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
21419 Gnus can now read IMAP mail via @code{nnimap}.
21427 @section The Manual
21431 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
21432 either @code{texi2dvi}
21434 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
21435 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
21437 to get what you hold in your hands now.
21439 The following conventions have been used:
21444 This is a @samp{string}
21447 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
21450 This is a @file{file}
21453 This is a @code{symbol}
21457 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
21461 (setq flargnoze "yes")
21464 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
21467 (setq flumphel 'yes)
21470 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
21471 ever get them confused.
21475 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
21476 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
21477 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
21478 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
21479 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
21480 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
21481 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
21487 @node On Writing Manuals
21488 @section On Writing Manuals
21490 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
21491 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
21492 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
21493 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
21494 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
21495 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
21498 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
21499 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
21500 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
21503 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
21504 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
21509 @section Terminology
21511 @cindex terminology
21516 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
21517 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
21518 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
21519 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
21520 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
21524 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
21525 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
21526 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
21527 not posting, and replying is not following up.
21531 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
21535 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
21540 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of back ends, both news and mail
21541 back ends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
21542 is all done by the back ends.
21546 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
21547 default, way of getting news.
21551 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
21552 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
21557 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
21558 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
21562 A message that has been posted as news.
21565 @cindex mail message
21566 A message that has been mailed.
21570 A mail message or news article
21574 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
21579 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
21584 A line from the head of an article.
21588 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
21589 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
21593 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
21594 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
21595 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
21596 normal @sc{head} format.
21600 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
21601 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
21602 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
21603 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
21604 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
21605 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
21607 @item killed groups
21608 @cindex killed groups
21609 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
21610 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
21612 @item zombie groups
21613 @cindex zombie groups
21614 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
21617 @cindex active file
21618 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
21619 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
21620 is rather large, as you might surmise.
21623 @cindex bogus groups
21624 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
21625 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
21626 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
21629 @cindex activating groups
21630 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
21631 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
21632 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
21636 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
21638 @item select method
21639 @cindex select method
21640 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
21643 @item virtual server
21644 @cindex virtual server
21645 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
21646 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
21647 whole is a virtual server.
21651 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
21652 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
21655 @item ephemeral groups
21656 @cindex ephemeral groups
21657 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
21658 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
21659 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
21662 @cindex solid groups
21663 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
21664 group buffer are solid groups.
21666 @item sparse articles
21667 @cindex sparse articles
21668 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
21669 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
21673 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
21674 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
21678 @cindex thread root
21679 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
21680 articles in the thread.
21684 An article that has responses.
21688 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
21692 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
21693 specified by RFC 1153.
21699 @node Customization
21700 @section Customization
21701 @cindex general customization
21703 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
21704 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
21705 for some quite common situations.
21708 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
21709 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
21710 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
21711 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
21715 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
21716 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
21718 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
21719 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
21720 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
21724 @item gnus-read-active-file
21725 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
21726 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
21727 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21728 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
21729 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
21731 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
21732 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
21733 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
21734 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
21738 @node Slow Terminal Connection
21739 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
21741 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
21742 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
21743 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
21747 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
21748 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
21749 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
21750 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
21751 horizontal and vertical recentering.
21753 @item gnus-visible-headers
21754 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
21755 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
21756 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
21757 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
21759 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
21761 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
21762 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
21763 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
21766 @item gnus-use-full-window
21767 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
21768 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
21769 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
21770 want to read them anyway.
21772 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
21773 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
21776 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
21777 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
21778 lines, which might save some time.
21782 @node Little Disk Space
21783 @subsection Little Disk Space
21786 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
21787 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
21791 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
21792 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
21793 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21794 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21797 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
21798 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
21799 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21800 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21803 @item gnus-save-killed-list
21804 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
21805 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
21806 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
21807 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
21813 @subsection Slow Machine
21814 @cindex slow machine
21816 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
21817 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
21819 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21820 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
21822 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
21823 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
21824 summary buffer faster.
21828 @node Troubleshooting
21829 @section Troubleshooting
21830 @cindex troubleshooting
21832 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
21840 Make sure your computer is switched on.
21843 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21844 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21848 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21849 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
21850 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
21851 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21854 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21858 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21859 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21860 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21861 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21862 something like that.
21865 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21868 @cindex reporting bugs
21870 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21872 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21873 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21874 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21875 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21877 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21878 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21879 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21880 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21883 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21884 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21885 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21886 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21887 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21888 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21890 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21891 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21892 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21896 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
21897 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
21899 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21900 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21902 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21903 @cindex ding mailing list
21904 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21905 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21909 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21910 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21912 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21913 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21914 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21915 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21918 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21919 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21920 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21921 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21922 and general methods of operation.
21925 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
21926 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
21927 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
21928 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
21929 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
21930 * Group Info:: The group info format.
21931 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
21932 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
21933 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
21937 @node Gnus Utility Functions
21938 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
21939 @cindex Gnus utility functions
21940 @cindex utility functions
21942 @cindex internal variables
21944 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
21945 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
21946 Below is a list of the most common ones.
21950 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
21951 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
21952 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
21954 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
21955 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
21956 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
21958 @item gnus-group-real-name
21959 @findex gnus-group-real-name
21960 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
21963 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
21964 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
21965 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
21966 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
21968 @item gnus-get-info
21969 @findex gnus-get-info
21970 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
21972 @item gnus-group-unread
21973 @findex gnus-group-unread
21974 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
21978 @findex gnus-active
21979 The active entry for @var{group}.
21981 @item gnus-set-active
21982 @findex gnus-set-active
21983 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
21985 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21986 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21987 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
21990 @item gnus-continuum-version
21991 @findex gnus-continuum-version
21992 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
21993 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
21996 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
21997 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
21998 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
22000 @item gnus-news-group-p
22001 @findex gnus-news-group-p
22002 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
22004 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
22005 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
22006 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
22008 @item gnus-server-to-method
22009 @findex gnus-server-to-method
22010 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
22012 @item gnus-server-equal
22013 @findex gnus-server-equal
22014 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
22016 @item gnus-group-native-p
22017 @findex gnus-group-native-p
22018 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
22020 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
22021 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
22022 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
22024 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
22025 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
22026 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
22028 @item group-group-find-parameter
22029 @findex group-group-find-parameter
22030 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
22031 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
22033 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
22034 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
22035 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
22037 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
22038 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
22039 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
22041 @item gnus-check-backend-function
22042 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
22043 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
22044 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
22047 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
22051 @item gnus-read-method
22052 @findex gnus-read-method
22053 Prompts the user for a select method.
22058 @node Back End Interface
22059 @subsection Back End Interface
22061 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
22062 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
22063 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
22064 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
22065 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
22066 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
22068 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
22069 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
22070 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
22071 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
22072 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
22073 been opened, the function should fail.
22075 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
22076 name. Take this example:
22080 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
22081 (nntp-port-number 4324))
22084 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
22085 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
22087 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
22088 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
22089 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
22091 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
22092 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
22093 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
22095 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
22096 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
22097 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
22098 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
22099 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
22100 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
22103 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
22104 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
22105 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
22106 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
22109 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
22110 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
22111 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
22112 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
22113 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
22114 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
22115 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
22116 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
22117 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
22118 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
22120 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
22121 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
22122 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
22123 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
22124 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
22125 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
22126 of numbers as long as possible.
22128 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
22131 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
22134 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
22135 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
22136 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
22137 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
22138 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
22139 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
22143 @node Required Back End Functions
22144 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
22148 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
22150 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
22151 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
22152 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
22153 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
22155 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
22156 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
22157 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
22158 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
22160 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
22161 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
22162 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
22163 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
22164 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
22165 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
22166 number, do maximum fetches.
22168 Here's an example HEAD:
22171 221 1056 Article retrieved.
22172 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
22173 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
22174 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
22175 Subject: Re: Something very droll
22176 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
22177 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
22179 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
22180 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
22181 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
22185 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
22186 these in the data buffer.
22188 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
22192 head = error / valid-head
22193 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
22194 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
22195 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
22196 header = <text> eol
22199 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
22200 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
22204 nov-buffer = *nov-line
22205 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
22206 field = <text except TAB>
22209 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
22213 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
22215 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
22216 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
22218 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
22219 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
22220 server. In fact, it should do so.
22222 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
22223 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
22226 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
22228 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
22229 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
22232 There should be no data returned.
22235 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
22237 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
22238 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
22239 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
22240 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
22242 There should be no data returned.
22245 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
22247 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
22248 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
22249 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
22250 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
22252 There should be no data returned.
22255 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
22257 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
22259 There should be no data returned.
22262 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
22264 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
22265 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
22266 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
22267 it would be nice if that were possible.
22269 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
22270 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
22271 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
22272 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
22273 into its article buffer.
22275 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
22276 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
22277 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
22278 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
22279 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
22280 on successful article retrieval.
22283 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
22285 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
22286 making @var{group} the current group.
22288 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
22291 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
22294 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
22297 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
22298 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
22299 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
22300 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
22301 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
22302 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
22303 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
22304 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
22307 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
22308 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
22309 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
22313 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22315 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
22316 a no-op on most back ends.
22318 There should be no data returned.
22321 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
22323 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
22326 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
22329 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
22330 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
22333 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
22334 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
22337 active-file = *active-line
22338 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
22340 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
22343 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
22344 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
22345 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
22348 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
22350 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
22351 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
22352 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
22353 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
22354 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
22355 clear if the posting could not be completed.
22357 There should be no result data from this function.
22362 @node Optional Back End Functions
22363 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
22367 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
22369 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
22370 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
22371 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
22373 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
22374 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
22375 former is in the same format as the data from
22376 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
22377 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
22380 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
22384 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
22386 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
22387 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
22388 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
22389 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
22390 should return the (altered) group info.
22392 There should be no result data from this function.
22395 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
22397 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
22398 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
22399 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
22400 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
22401 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
22402 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
22403 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
22404 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
22406 There should be no result data from this function.
22409 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
22411 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
22412 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
22413 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
22414 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
22415 propagate the mark information to the server.
22417 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
22420 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
22423 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
22424 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
22425 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
22426 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
22427 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
22428 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
22429 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
22430 possible, not limit itself to these.
22432 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
22433 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
22434 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
22435 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
22437 An example action list:
22440 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
22441 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
22442 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
22445 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
22446 mark on (currently not used for anything).
22448 There should be no result data from this function.
22450 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
22452 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
22453 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
22454 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
22455 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
22456 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
22458 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
22459 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
22460 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
22463 There should be no result data from this function.
22466 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
22468 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
22469 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
22470 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
22471 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
22472 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
22473 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
22474 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
22476 There should be no result data from this function.
22479 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
22481 The result data from this function should be a description of
22485 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
22487 description = <text>
22490 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
22492 The result data from this function should be the description of all
22493 groups available on the server.
22496 description-buffer = *description-line
22500 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
22502 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
22503 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
22504 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
22505 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
22506 in the active buffer format.
22508 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
22509 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
22510 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
22511 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
22512 many groups, so nnml and the like are probably safe. But for back ends
22513 like nntp, where the groups have been created by the server, it is quite
22514 likely that there can be many groups.
22517 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22519 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
22521 There should be no return data.
22524 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
22526 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
22527 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
22528 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
22529 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
22530 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
22533 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
22536 There should be no result data returned.
22539 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
22542 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
22543 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
22545 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
22546 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
22547 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
22548 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
22549 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
22550 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
22552 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
22553 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
22556 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22557 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22559 There should be no data returned.
22562 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
22564 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
22565 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
22566 this function in short order.
22568 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22569 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22571 There should be no data returned.
22574 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
22576 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
22577 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
22579 There should be no data returned.
22582 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
22584 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
22585 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
22586 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
22588 There should be no data returned.
22591 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
22593 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
22594 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
22596 There should be no data returned.
22601 @node Error Messaging
22602 @subsubsection Error Messaging
22604 @findex nnheader-report
22605 @findex nnheader-get-report
22606 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
22607 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
22608 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
22609 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
22610 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
22611 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
22614 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
22616 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
22619 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
22620 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
22621 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
22622 takes one argument---the server symbol.
22624 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
22625 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
22626 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
22629 @node Writing New Back Ends
22630 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
22632 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
22633 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
22634 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
22635 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
22636 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
22639 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
22640 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
22641 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
22643 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
22644 package called @code{nnoo}.
22646 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
22647 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
22653 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
22654 parameters. For instance:
22657 (nnoo-declare nndir
22661 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
22662 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
22665 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
22666 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
22667 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
22669 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
22670 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
22671 a function in those back ends.
22674 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22675 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22676 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22679 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
22680 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
22681 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
22683 @item nnoo-define-basics
22684 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
22688 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22692 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
22693 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
22694 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
22696 @item nnoo-map-functions
22697 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
22698 functions from the parent back ends.
22701 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22702 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22703 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
22706 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
22707 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
22708 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
22709 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
22712 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
22713 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
22714 haven't already been defined.
22720 nnmh-request-newgroups)
22724 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
22725 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
22726 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
22731 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
22734 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
22735 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22739 (require 'nnheader)
22743 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
22745 (nnoo-declare nndir
22748 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22749 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22750 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22752 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
22753 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
22756 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
22758 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
22759 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
22760 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
22762 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
22763 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
22765 ;;; Interface functions.
22767 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22769 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
22770 (setq nndir-directory
22771 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
22773 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
22774 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
22775 (push `(nndir-current-group
22776 ,(file-name-nondirectory
22777 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22779 (push `(nndir-top-directory
22780 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22782 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
22784 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22785 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22786 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22787 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
22788 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
22792 nnmh-status-message
22794 nnmh-request-newgroups))
22800 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
22801 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
22803 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
22804 @findex gnus-declare-backend
22805 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
22806 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
22807 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
22809 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
22810 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
22815 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
22818 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
22820 The abilities can be:
22824 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
22826 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
22828 This back end supports both mail and news.
22830 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
22833 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
22834 articles and groups.
22836 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
22837 true for almost all back ends.
22838 @item prompt-address
22839 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
22840 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
22841 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
22845 @node Mail-like Back Ends
22846 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
22848 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
22849 back ends is the heavy dependence by the mail back ends on common
22850 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
22851 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
22854 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
22855 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
22856 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
22859 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
22860 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
22863 This function takes four parameters.
22867 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
22870 @item exit-function
22871 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
22873 @item temp-directory
22874 Where the temporary files should be stored.
22877 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
22878 performed for one group only.
22881 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
22882 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22883 find the article number assigned to this article.
22885 The function also uses the following variables:
22886 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22887 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
22888 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22889 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22893 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22894 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22898 @node Score File Syntax
22899 @subsection Score File Syntax
22901 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22902 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22903 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22905 Here's a typical score file:
22909 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22916 BNF definition of a score file:
22919 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22920 element = rule / atom
22921 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22922 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
22923 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
22924 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
22926 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
22927 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
22928 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
22929 date-header = "date"
22930 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22931 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22932 score = "nil" / <integer>
22933 date = "nil" / <natural number>
22934 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
22935 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
22936 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
22937 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
22938 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22939 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22940 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
22941 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22942 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
22943 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
22944 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
22945 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
22946 exclude-files / read-only / touched
22947 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
22948 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
22949 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
22950 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
22951 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
22952 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
22953 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
22954 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
22955 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
22956 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
22957 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
22958 eval = "eval" space <form>
22959 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
22962 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
22965 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
22966 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
22967 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
22968 one looong line, then that's ok.
22970 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
22971 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22975 @subsection Headers
22977 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
22978 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
22979 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
22980 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
22982 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
22983 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
22984 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
22985 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
22986 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
22987 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
22988 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
22990 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
22991 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
22992 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
22993 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
22994 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
22996 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
22997 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
23003 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
23004 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
23006 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
23007 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
23008 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
23009 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
23011 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
23015 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
23018 is transformed into
23021 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
23024 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
23025 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
23028 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
23031 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
23032 is slightly tricky:
23035 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
23041 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
23044 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
23050 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
23057 and is equal to the previous range.
23059 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
23060 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
23061 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
23065 range = simple-range / normal-range
23066 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
23067 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
23068 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
23069 number *[ " " contents ]
23072 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
23073 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
23074 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
23075 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
23076 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
23081 @subsection Group Info
23083 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
23084 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
23085 describes the group.
23087 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
23088 second is a more complex one:
23091 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
23093 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
23094 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
23096 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
23099 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
23100 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
23101 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
23102 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
23103 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
23104 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
23105 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
23106 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
23107 this section is about.
23109 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
23110 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
23111 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
23113 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
23116 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
23117 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
23118 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
23119 group = quote <string> quote
23120 ralevel = rank / level
23121 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
23122 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
23123 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
23125 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
23126 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
23127 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
23128 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
23131 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
23132 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
23135 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
23136 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
23139 @item gnus-info-group
23140 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
23141 @findex gnus-info-group
23142 @findex gnus-info-set-group
23143 Get/set the group name.
23145 @item gnus-info-rank
23146 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
23147 @findex gnus-info-rank
23148 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
23149 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
23151 @item gnus-info-level
23152 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
23153 @findex gnus-info-level
23154 @findex gnus-info-set-level
23155 Get/set the group level.
23157 @item gnus-info-score
23158 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
23159 @findex gnus-info-score
23160 @findex gnus-info-set-score
23161 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
23163 @item gnus-info-read
23164 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
23165 @findex gnus-info-read
23166 @findex gnus-info-set-read
23167 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
23169 @item gnus-info-marks
23170 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
23171 @findex gnus-info-marks
23172 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
23173 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
23175 @item gnus-info-method
23176 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
23177 @findex gnus-info-method
23178 @findex gnus-info-set-method
23179 Get/set the group select method.
23181 @item gnus-info-params
23182 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
23183 @findex gnus-info-params
23184 @findex gnus-info-set-params
23185 Get/set the group parameters.
23188 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
23189 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
23191 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
23192 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
23193 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
23194 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
23197 @node Extended Interactive
23198 @subsection Extended Interactive
23199 @cindex interactive
23200 @findex gnus-interactive
23202 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
23203 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
23204 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
23207 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
23208 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
23213 The best thing to do would have been to implement
23214 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
23215 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
23216 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
23217 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
23218 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
23219 @code{interactive}.
23221 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
23226 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
23227 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
23231 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
23232 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
23233 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
23236 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
23240 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
23244 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
23250 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
23251 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
23255 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
23256 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
23257 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
23259 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
23260 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
23261 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
23262 Gnus, that's very useful.
23264 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
23265 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
23266 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
23267 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
23268 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
23269 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
23270 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
23271 following function:
23274 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
23278 (,function ,@@args))
23282 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
23283 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
23284 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
23287 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
23288 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
23289 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
23291 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
23292 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
23293 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
23296 @node Various File Formats
23297 @subsection Various File Formats
23300 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
23301 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
23305 @node Active File Format
23306 @subsubsection Active File Format
23308 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
23309 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
23312 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
23315 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
23316 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
23317 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
23318 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
23319 no.general 1000 900 y
23322 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
23325 active = *group-line
23326 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
23327 group = <non-white-space string>
23329 high-number = <non-negative integer>
23330 low-number = <positive integer>
23331 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
23334 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
23335 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
23338 @node Newsgroups File Format
23339 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
23341 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
23342 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
23343 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
23346 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
23347 Here's the definition:
23351 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
23352 group = <non-white-space string>
23354 description = <string>
23359 @node Emacs for Heathens
23360 @section Emacs for Heathens
23362 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
23363 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
23364 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
23365 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
23366 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
23367 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
23368 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
23372 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
23373 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
23378 @subsection Keystrokes
23382 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
23385 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
23388 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
23389 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
23390 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
23391 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
23392 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
23393 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
23395 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
23396 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
23397 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
23398 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
23399 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
23400 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
23401 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
23403 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
23404 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
23405 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
23406 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
23407 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
23408 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
23409 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
23411 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
23412 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
23413 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
23414 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
23415 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
23421 @subsection Emacs Lisp
23423 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
23424 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
23425 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
23426 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
23428 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
23429 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
23430 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
23431 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
23432 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
23433 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
23434 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
23437 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
23438 write the following:
23441 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
23444 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
23445 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
23446 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
23449 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
23450 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
23451 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
23452 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
23453 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
23455 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
23456 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
23457 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
23461 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
23465 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
23468 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
23469 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
23472 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
23475 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
23476 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
23479 @include gnus-faq.texi
23500 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
23501 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
23502 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
23503 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
23504 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref